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IOWA  CIT\ 


7 


CONTRIBUTION 


TO    THE 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IOWA 


BY 


BENJAMIN   F.  SHAMBAUGH,  M.  A. 


Published  by  the 

STATE    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   OF   IOWA 

IOWA   CITY,  IOWA 

1893 


oWo^/iQ> 


IOWA  CITY 


CONTRIBUTION 


TO    THE 


EARLY  HISTORY  OF  IOWA 


BY 


BENJAMIN   F.  SHAMBAUGH,  M.  A. 


Published  by  the 

STATE    HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   OF    IOWA 

IOWA    CITY,  IOWA 

1893 


C(i\ 


Copyright,  1S93, 
By   Benjamin  F.  Shambaugh. 


PREFACE. 

Iowa  City  is  interesting  chiefly  as  the  historical  capital 
of  Iowa.  The  object  of  this  monograph,  therefore,  will 
be  to  deal  with  the  history  of  Iowa  City  as  a  factor  in 
the  earl}'  history  of  Iowa.  And  under  this  treatment  it 
is  proposed  to  study  the  town  in  a  two-fold  aspect :  as 
an  organ  of  the  state  performing  the  functions  of  a 
capital,  and  as  an  organism  illustrating  the  character, 
manners  and  customs  of  pioneer  life  in  Iowa.  The 
period  covered  in  these  pages  extends  from  the  found- 
ing of  Iowa  City  in  the  year  1839  ^^  ^^^  ^nd\  removal 
of  the  capital  to  Des  Moines  in  the  year  1857. 

No  previous  attempt  having  been  made  to  write  the 
history  of  Iowa  City,  this  monograph  is  necessarily  the 
result  of  original  investigation.  Fortunately,  however, 
inasmuch  as  Iowa  City  has  always  been  the  seat  of 
the  State  Historical  Society,  there  has  drifted  into  the 
library  of  this  society  important  material  on  the  subject 
which  otherwise  would  have  been  lost  or  carelessly 
destroyed.  As  to  sources  of  information  I  have  for  the 
most  part  relied  upon  contemporaneous  newspapers, 
letters,  original  manuscripts  and  miscellaneous  papers. 
The  facts  relative  to  territorial  and  state  legislation — to 


iv  Preface. 

which  I  recur  frequentl}' — were  all  taken  directly  from 
the  official  reports.  To  all  of  these  sources  I  have 
made  copious  references  in  the  foot-notes  in  order  to 
assist  in  verifying  the  statements  found  in  the  text,  and 
to  facilitate  the  labors  of  the  future  student. 

While  pursuing  a  course  of  graduate  study  I  pre- 
pared a  thesis  upon  "Iowa  City,  the  Historical  Capi- 
tal of  Iowa,"  which  was  accepted  for  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts  at  the  State  University  of  Iowa  in  June, 
1893.  In  connection  with  the  preparation  of  this  thesis 
I  owe  acknowledgements  to  Professor  W.  R.  Perkins, 
at  whose  instance  it  was  written. 

In  May,  1S93,  extracts  from  the  original  thesis  were 
thrown  into  the  form  of  a  lecture  and  delivered  at  Iowa 
City  before  the  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa.  At 
the  request  of  Dr.  J.  L.  Pickard,  President  of  the  State 
Historical  Society,  I  undertook,  with  a  view  to  its  pub- 
lication by  the  Historical  Society,  a  broader  and  more 
thorough  presentation  of  my  study,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing pages  are  the  result. 

For  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  the  monograph 
as  it  now  appears,  I  am  especially  indebted  to  Isaac  A. 
Loos,  Professor  of  Political  Science  in  the  State  Uni- 
versity of  Iowa.  His  criticisms  and  suggestions  on  the 
arrangement  of  my  material  have  been  invaluable.  To 
Professor  Loos  I  am  also  grateful  for  an  appreciation  of 
scientific  methods  of  stud}',  and  for  the  kindly  personal 
interest   which  he  has  taken  in  my  work. 


Preface.  v 

To  Dr.  Theodore  S.  Parvin,  librarian  of  the  Iowa 
Masonic  Library  at  Cedar  Rapids,  I  am  indebted  for 
valuable  information  and  sujjgfestions.  And  to  Messrs. 
H.  W.  Lathrop  and  M.  W.  Davis,  of  the  State  His- 
torical Society,  I  am  grateful  for  many  favors. 

B.  F.  S. 

August^  i8gj. 


CONTENTS. 

Introduction.  page 

Geological 2 

Historical        4 

I. 
Early  Land  Claims. 

Claim  Associations 7 

Clai.Ti  Association  of  Johnson  County 9 

Claims  to  the  Site  of  Iowa  City 10 

Claims  to  Section  Ten       13 

Claims  to  the  N.  W.  Quarter  of  Section  Fifteen    ...  15 

II. 
The  Founding  of  Iowa  City. 

Preliminary  Legislation 17 

Selecting  the  Site 20 

The  Site 25 

Surveying  the  Town       26 

The  Town  Plat       30 

The  First  Inhabitants 32 

The  First  Sales  of  Lots       34 

III. 
The  Beginnings  of  Municipal  Life. 

Growth  and  Development       37 

An  Old  Fashioned  Economy 39 

Mail  Facilities 40 

Public  Roads 41 

Ferries       42 

Commerce 44 

Mining 46 

The  Common  Industries 47 

The  Iowa  City  Manufacturing  Company 47 

Local  Politics 51 

The  County  Seat 51 

Early  Justice 54 


viii  Contents. 

IV. 
The  Territorial  Capital. 

Coming  of  the  Assembly 57 

Erection  of  the  Capitol 59 

Financial  History  of  the  Capitol 65 

Cost  of  the  Capitol 72 

Local  Government  of  the  Territorial  Capital 73 

V. 

Educational  Beginnings. 

Mechanics'  Academy 77 

Snethen  Seminary 80 

Iowa  City  College 80 

Iowa  City  University 82 

From  Private  to  Public  Schools 85 

Iowa  Female  Collegiate  Institute 86 

School  for  the  Blind 88 

School  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 89 

Churches 89 

VI. 
The  State  Capital. 

First  Constitutional  Convention       91 

The  Boundary  Dispute 92 

Negro  Suffrage 94 

Second  Constitutional  Convention 97 

The  Abolition  of  Banks 98 

An  Era  of  Progress .  100 

Early  Railroad  Projects loi 

Davenport  &  Iowa  City  Railroad  Company 103 

Mississippi  &  Missouri  Railroad  Company 105 

A  Municipal  Corporation 107 

Municipal  Improvements 108 

A  Political  Center 109 

VII. 
Removal  of  the  Capital. 

Agitation  for  Removal no 

Monroe  City m 

Des  Moines n3 

Third  Constitutional  Convention 113 

The  Great  Compromise iii. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Iowa  City  has  a  peculiarly  significant  history.  Father- 
ed by  the  Territory  and  located  in  a  frontier  wilderness 
upon  unsurveyed  lands  this  town,  unlike  any  other  town 
in  Iowa,  was  a  special  creation.  In  point  of  ori^^in  it 
resembles  more  the  Roman  provincial  town  than  the 
ordinary  American  city.  For  fourteen  3'ears  of  its  his- 
tory it  was  without  corporate  org-anization;  and  durincj 
this  period  it  was  subject  directly  to  territorial  and  state 
legislation.  Iowa  City  is  preeminently  the  historical 
capital  of  Iowa. 

Its  location  on  the  frontier  called  into  existence  the 
most  powerful  claim  association  ever  known  to  have 
been  organized  in  Iowa.  Here  assembled  the  men  who 
first  formulated  into  constitutional  and  statutory  pro- 
visions the  fundamental  principles  of  Iowa  law  and 
jurisprudence.  It  was  the  objective  pomt  of  the  first 
railroad  agitation  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  And 
later  on  it  became  the  seat  of  higher  education. 

Located  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Iowa  River,  Iowa 
City  is  about  sixty  miles  directly  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
one-half  that  distance  from  Muscatine,  eighty-six  miles 
from  Dubuque,  eighty  miles  east  of  the  Raccoon  fork  of 
the  Des  Moines  River,  seventy-five  miles  from  Burling- 
ton, and  eighty-three  miles  north  of  the  Missouri  State 
boundary  line.  Near  the  geographical  center  of  Johnson 
County,  its  latitude  is  40°  38"  north,  and  its  longitude 
90°  30 "  west. 


2  lozva   City. 

The  topography  of  the  town  site  was  unique — remind- 
ing the  tourist  of  the  city  of  St.  Omer  in  France.  Lying 
fifty  feet  above  the  w^ater  level  of  the  Iowa  River,  the 
land  was  beautifully  carved  into  the  form  of  a  vast 
amphitheater.  On  the  west  there  is  an  eminence  run- 
ning parallel  with  the  river  and  covered  with  large 
w^hite  oaks.^  From  this  eminence  the  land  descends 
from  live  to  seven  degrees  to  the  eastward.  On  the 
northwest  a  high  bluff,  shaded  by  oak  and  hickor}-  trees, 
overlooks  the  river  to  the  west  and  slopes  gradually 
down  to  the  south  and  east.  To  the  north,  northeast 
and  less  prominently  eastward  rises  a  range  of  hills 
covered  with  hazel  shrubbery  and  scattered  growths  of 
oak.  While  on  the  south  there  is  a  plain  followed  by  a 
receding  eminence  crowned  with  heavy  timber.  The 
basin  of  this  natural  amphitheater,  which  in  some  places 
w^as  spongy  enough  to  mire  a  horse,  was  drained  by  a 
small  stream  now  known  as  "Ralston  Creek."- 

Geological. 

Of  all  that  long  period  of  organic  and  inorganic  evo- 
lution which  must  have  preceded  the  dawn  of  the 
Devonian  Age  the  rocks  of  low'a  City  bear  no  inscrip- 
tions. The  earliest  geological  records  of  the  site  of 
Iowa  City  date  back  no  farther  than  the  beginning  of 
the  Devonian  Age.-'  Then  Iowa  City  lay  at  the  bottom 
of  a  clear,  shallow,  open  sea,  whose  waters  stretched 
out  liniillcss  toward  the  west  and  southwest.     This  sea 

1  A  few  of  the  primitive  oaks  are  still  stamiing  on  the  campus  of  the 
State  University. 

*  Named  in  honor  of  Robert  Ralston,  one  of  the  three  commissioners 
who  located  Iowa  City. 

»  See  Professor  Samuel  Calvin  in  loiva  Ilisiorical  Record,  Vol.  I,  No.  3 


Introduction.  3 

at  first  swarmed  with  millions  of  mailed  worms  of  an  old- 
fashioned  type,  whose  numbers,  however,  were  greatly 
reduced  as  time  went  on.  Then,  along  with  a  variety  of 
low-typed  sponges,  there  flourished  luxuriant  growths 
of  coral.  These  coral  formations  alone  have  made  Iowa 
City  famous  in  the  scientific  world.  In  1864,  Agassiz 
himself  collected  some  with  his  own  hand.^  Crinoids, 
peculiar  sharks  and  mail-clad  fishes  also  inhabited  this 
ancient  sea.  Finalh'  the  Devonian  Age  came  to  an  end 
and  with  its  close  the  life  of  the  brachiopods,  corals, 
sponges,  sharks,  fishes  and  crinoids  also  came  to  an  end. 
Slowly  the  shore  line  of  the  sea  retreated  westward  and 
the  present  site  of  Iowa  City  became  a  part  of  the  North 
American  continent.  But  this  was  not  the  last  of  its 
subaquatic  life.  For  deposited  beds  of  sandstone  tell  us 
that  the  whole  site  was  again  submerged  shortly  before 
the  close  of  the  Carboniferous  Age.  In  time  the  sea 
again  receded  with  the  movements  of  the  earth's  crust. 
Exposed  to  the  powerful  influences  of  the  elements,  the 
rocks  were  carved  into  hills,  basins  and  river  courses. 
As  this  destructive  work  went  on,  long  geological  ages 
passed  by  solitarily.  The  Glacial  Period  came  on  with 
its  fields  and  mountains  of  crushing,  grinding  ice.  Dur- 
ing this  period  there  was  on  the  site  of  Iowa  City  a  lake 
of  unfrozen  w^ater  surrounded  by  ic}^  barriers.  But  this 
lake  with  its  icy  barriers  too  passed  aw^ay,  leaving  all 
ihino-s   from   that   time  on  to  verdure   and  to  life.     Of 

1  Professor  Agassiz  visited  Iowa  City  in  March,  1864,  for  the  purpose 
of  examining  the  coral  formations  in  this  locality.  He  was  entertained 
by  Professor  T.  S.  Parvin  at  whose  request  he  came  to  Iowa  City. 
While  here  he  delivered  two  lectures.  One  was  delivered  before  the 
public  in  general,  and  was  on  the  "Coral  Reefs  of  Iowa  City;"  the 
other  was  on  "  Glaciers ''  and  was  addressed  to  the  Faculty  and  students 
of  the  State  University. 


4  lozva   City. 

animals  there  flourished  an  infinite  variety  of  species, 
from  the  minute  worm  and  insect  to  the  elephant  and 
the  mastodon. 

Historical. 

The  events  that  took  place  on  the  site  of  Iowa  City 
from  the  time  that  life  first  manifested  itself  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  man — the  struggles  for  supremacy,  the  wars 
of  species,  the  conflicts  of  individuals,  the  survivals  of  the 
best  and  the  stamping  out  of  the  unfit  —  must  forever 
remain  unknown.  And  respecting  its  occupation  by 
man  previous  to  the  advent  of  the  European,  we  can 
only  say  that  it  formed  an  infinitely  small  part  of  the 
hunting  grounds  of  the  Indians.  As  to  the  possible 
predecessors  of  the  Indians,  too  much  has  already  been 
written  and  too  little  is  actually  known  to  call  for  fur- 
ther observations  here. 

Father  Marquette  was  the  first  white  man  to  penetrate 
the  wilderness  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Iowa.  One 
hundred  and  thirty-two  years  after  the  discovery  of  the 
Mississippi  by  Ferdinand  DeSoto,  and  one  hundred  and 
three  years  before  the  writing  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  he  journe3'ed  far  into  the  then  lonel}'' 
valle}'  of  the  Des  Moines.  His  journey  is  one  of  the 
incidents  in  the  sad  history  of  the  many  fruitless  attempts 
to  convert  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  the 
Mississippi  Valley  to  the  faith  of  Rome.  Yet  the  failure 
of  Marquette's  mission  will  never  detract  from  the  deep 
interest  which  all  Iowa  has  in  that  romantic  journey  of 
the  fearless  priest  into  the  primeval  wilderness  of  the 
Des  Moines  vallev. 


Litrodiiction.  5 

That  portion  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase  i  which  falls 
within  the  Hmits  of  Iowa  was  originally  a  part  of  the 
"District  of  Louisiana"  placed  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Indiana  Territor}'.  The  District  of  Louisiana  became 
the  "Territory  of  Louisiana"  on  the  4th  of  July,  1S05, 
in  accordance  with  an  act  of  Congress  approved  on  the 
3rd  of  March  preceding,  and  embraced  that  part  of  the 
purchase  which  lay  north  of  the  33rd  parallel.  When  in 
181 2  the  Territor}'  of  Orleans,  lying  south  of  the  33rd 
parallel,  became  the  State  of  Louisiana,  the  Territory  of 
Louisiana  was  named  Missouri. ^  In  18 19  the  Territory 
of  Arkansas  was  created  and  Missouri,  a  year  later, 
became  a  State  with  substantially  its  present  boundaries. 
The  large  tract,  hitherto  included  in  the  Territory  of 
Missouri,  lying  west  and  north  of  the  State  of  Missouri 
was  not  then  formally  reorganized;  and  the  future  Ter- 
ritory of  Iowa  was  left  apparently  without  local  govern- 
ment   for  fourteen  3-ears.""     Joined  to  the  Territory  of 

1  That  large  tract  of  territory,  known  as  Louisiana,  was  first  dis- 
covered by  tlie  Spaniards;  but  through  failure  to  occupy,  it  was  lost  to 
France.  By  treaty  on  the  loth  of  February,  1763,  France  transferred  it 
to  the  Spanish  crown.  Spain  ceded  it  back  to  France  October  ist,  1800. 
Again  by  a  treaty  which  was  signed  on  the  2nd  of  May,  1S03,  and  ratified 
by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  about  the  middle  of  October,  1S03, 
Louisiana  was  purchased  by  the  United  States.  By  act  of  Congress, 
October  31st,  1S03,  a  temporary  government  was  authorized  for  the 
newly  acquired  territory.  "  The  annexation  of  Louisiana  was  an  event 
so  portentous  as  to  defy  measurement;  it  gave  a  new  face  to  politics, 
and  ranked  in  historical  importance  next  to  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence."— (Henry  Adams,  Hist,  of  U.  S.  Vol.  II,  page  49.) 

*  U.  S.  Stat,  at  Large,  Vol.  II,  743. 

'  I  say  apparently  without  local  government,  for  as  a  matter  of  fact 
the  settlers  of  this  district  did  exercise  the  functions  of  local  govern- 
ment. Their  rules,  regulations  and  courts  had,  it  is  true,  no  legal  sanc- 
tion; but  they  had  what  was  actually  more  authoritative  in  a  new 
country — they  had  the  sanction  of  the  community. 


6  lozva   City. 

Michigan  on  the  2Sth  of  June,  1S34,  ^c>r  civil  and  judicial 
purposes,  1  Iowa  became  a  part  of  the  Wisconsin  Terri- 
tory in  July,  1S36.-  Two  years  later,  on  the  3rd  of  July, 
1S38,  it  was  established  and  designated  as  the  "Terri- 
tory of  Iowa,"  with  a  temporary  capital  at  Burlington.^ 
In  January,  1839,  the  iirst  Legislative  Assembh'  of 
the  Territory  appointed  commissioners  to  select  a  site 
within  the  limits  of  Johnson  County*  upon  which  to 
locate  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa. 
At  the  place  thus  selected  the  commissioners  were 
ordered  to  found  a  town  to  be  called  Iow^\  City. 

1  U.  S.  Stat,  at  Large,  Vol.  IV,  701. 

8  Ibid,  Vol.  V,  10. 

3  Ibid,  Vol.  V,  235. 

*  Johnson  County  was  organized  by  an  act  of  the  Council  and  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  approved  June  22nd, 
1S38.  Previous  to  the  passing  of  this  act,  Johnson  County  had  been  a 
part  of  Dubuque  County,  created  by  the  Territorial  Assembly  of  Michi- 
gan in  September,  1S34. 


I. 

EARLY    LAND    CLALMS. 
Claim  Associations. 

To  the  superricial  observer  the  general  statement,  that 
the  site  of  Io^va  City,  originally  a  part  of  the  Public 
Domain  of  the  United  States  by  right  of  purchase  and 
treaty,  was  donated  by  the  General  Government  to  the 
Territory  of  Iowa  for  public  purposes,  has  been  an  all 
sufficient  resume.  Yet  this  statement  contains  no  refer- 
ence to  the  most  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of 
Iowa  City  landed  property — interesting  not  only  to  those 
who  are  directly  concerned  in  Iowa  City  real  estate,  but 
also  intensely  interesting  to  the  student  of  "Institutional 
Beginnings  in  the  Mississippi  Valley."  The  histor}'  of 
"early  land  claims"  goes  back  of  all  government  records 
and  is  to  be  found  in  the  history  of  the  claim  associa- 
tions alone. 

The  earliest  claims  to  land  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River  were  made  by  pioneer  farmers  (or  squatters)  in 
direct  violation  of  an  act  of  Congress  prohibiting  settlers 
from  trespassing  on  the  Public  Domain.  These  early 
land-holders,  without  titles  or  patents  from  the  United 
States,  had  no  Icg'al  rights  to  the  soil  they  occupied  and, 
therefore,  could  expect  no  protection  from  the  General 
Government.  In  consequence  there  grew  up  a  system 
of  popular  government  peculiar  to  the  pioneer  communi- 
ties of  the  West.  It  was  a  novel  system  based  upon  the 
organization  known  as  "Claim  Association"  or  "Land 
Club." 


8  Io-.ua   City. 

Each  community  or  township  had  its  own  distinct  land 
association,  the  principal  object  of  which  was  the  pro- 
tection of  the  bona  fide  settlers  in  what  they  pleased  to 
call  their  rights  in  making  and  holding  claims  —  protec- 
tion against  "speculators,"  "land  sharks"  and  greed}' 
settlers.  Disputes  between  members  of  an  association 
were  arbitrated  by  the  "Claim  Court"  or  "Claim  Com- 
mittee." From  the  decisions  of  this  court  or  committee 
there  was  no  appeal.  Intentional  failure  to  abide  by  the 
laws  of  the  association  was  punished  by  boycott,  ostra- 
cism, public  condemnation,  tar-and-feathers  and  the  lash. 

The  maximum  amount  of  land  allowed  to  any  one 
settler  varied  in  the  different  communities  from  one 
hundred  and  sixty  to  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres. 
Boundaries  of  claims  were  designated  by  section  and 
township  lines,  if  the  public  surveys  had  been  com- 
pleted, otherwise  by  blazed  trees,  streams,  bills,  stumps, 
stakes  and  rocks.  These  claims  the  settlers  continued 
to  cultivate  and  improve  until  the  land  was  offered  for 
sale  by  the  government. 

As  the  time  announced  for  the  public  sale  approached, 
all  claims  were  carefully  recorded  and  marked  off  on 
the  township  map.  A  "bidder"  for  the  whole  com- 
munit}-  was  then  appointed  by  the  association.  At  the 
sale  he  held  the  marked  township  map,  and  as  fast  as 
the  claims  of  the  members  of  his  association  were  called 
by  the  auctioneer,  he  would  bid  the  minimum  price  of 
one  dollar  and  twentv-hve  cents  per  acre.  And  at  this 
price  the  land  was  invariably  bought;  for  no  one  dared 
bid  against  an  original  claimant.  Let  an  outsider  be  so 
bold  as  to  i")ut  in  a  counter  bid,  and  in  an  instant  he 
would  be  "knocked  down"  and  compelled  to  withdraw 
his  offer,  or  risk  his  life  at  the  hands  of  tiie   members  of 


Early  Loui  Claims.  9 

a  claim  association,  \vho  were  all  there  ready  to  "do 
their  duty.-"  At  home  as  at  the  public  sale,  the  mem- 
bers were  always  fully  protected  in  their  rights.  And 
this,  let  it  be  understood,  was  no  second  rate  protection. 
For  the  law  of  the  association  was  the  supreme  rule  of 
the  community  against  which  no  man  dared  raise  his 
hand. 

The  Claim  Association  of  Johnson  County. 

As  soon  as  Johnson  County  was  seriously  mentioned  as 
the  county  in  which  the  capital  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa 
would  probably  be  located,  emigrants  began  to  examine 
their  maps  for  the  fayored  district  and  make  prepara- 
tions for  a  journey  to  the  frontier.  Anticipating  a  rush 
of  immigration,  the  •'  squatters "  already  in  Johnson 
County  took  steps — immediately  after  the  passage  of  the 
act  definitely  fixing  the  location  within  the  limits  of  their 
county — to\yard  forming  of  an  association  for  the  better 
protection  of  their  rights  in  making  and  holding  claims. 
xVfter  seyeral  preliminary  meetings  the  "  Claim  Associa- 
tion of  Johnson  County"  was  formally  organized  on  the 
9th  day  of  March,  1839,  ^^  ^  public  meeting  attended  by 
nearly  eyery  "squatter"  in  the  county. 

The  Claim  Association  of  Johnson  County  was  well 
supported  by  the  community  for  which  it  was  created. 
Its  laws  and  resolutions  vyere  at  all  times  strictly  obseryed 
and  loyally  upheld.  "Claim-jumping"  was  preyented;^ 
and  at  the  government  land  sales  the  association  secured 

1  I  have  been  able  to  learn  of  only  two  cases  of  "c'.aim-jumping"  in 
which  the  association  was  concerned.  One  was  an  attempt  on  the  part 
of  Mr.  Crawford  to  "jump"  a  claim  made  by  Mr.  Sturgis;  the  other 
attempt  was  made  by  Mr.  Charles  Berryhill,  who  was  promptly  given 
the  required  number  of  lashes  by  Mr.  Joseph  Stover,  of  the  claim 
association. 


lO  lozva   City. 

to  its  members  the  privilege  of  purchasing  their  claims 
at  the  average  minimum  price  of  one  dollar  and  twenty- 
five  cents  per  acre.  "Xew-comers"  were  compelled  to 
respect  the  regulations  of  the  association.  Most  of  them 
acquiesced  willingly  and  signed  the  constitution.  Robert 
Lucas,  Iowa's  first  Governor,  having  purchased  a  claim 
in  the  countv,  acknowledged  the  sovereignty  of  this 
pioneer  organization  b}^  subscribmg  to  its  constitution 
and  handing  in  his  own  claim  for  record.^ 

Claims  to  the  Site  of  Iowa  City. 

But  the  peculiar  circumstances  surrounding  the  dona- 
tion of  a  part  of  the  PubHc  Domain  b}'  the  United  States 
to  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  and  the  founding  of  a  town  by 
the  Legislative  Assembly  on  that  land  were  such,  that 
settlers,  unfortunate  enough  to  have  made  or  purchased 
claims  on  the  soil  thus  appropriated,  could  find  no  pro- 
tection even  in  the  Claim  Association  of  Johnson  County. 
For  the  claim  associations  were  always  bound  to  respect 
the  rights  of  the  United  States.-  With  but  two  exceptions 
the  claimants  to  the  tow^n  site  of  Iowa  City  received  no 
remuneration  for  their  claims  or  their  improvements. -"^ 

1  Other  prominent  men  whose  names  are  attached  to  the  constitution 
of  this  claim  association  are:  S.  C.  Hastings,  one  of  Iowa's  early  Repre- 
sentatives in  Congress,  and  afterwards  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Iowa,  and  also  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  California;  Morgan 
Reno,  Territorial  and  State  Treasurer  of  Iowa;  S.  H.  McCrory  and 
Henrv  F'elkner,  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  Iowa;  and 
Robert  Ralston,  one  of  the  commissioners  who  located  the  capital  at 
Iowa  City  in   1S39. 

2  The  claim  associations  in  the  west,  let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  were 
organized  not  to  protect  settlers  against  the  government,  but  to  protect 
them  against  speculators  and  unscrupulous  "  squatters." 

3  In  speaking  of  the  site  of  Iowa  City  in  this  connection,  I  wish  to  be 
iniderirtood  as  referring  not  only  to  section  ten,  the  original  Seat  of  Gov- 
ernment, but  also  to  the  addition  made  soon  afterward  for  the  location  of 
the  Johnson  County  Court  House,  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  fifteen. 


Early  Lcuui  Claims.  ii 

The  lirst  exceptional  case  was  that  of  J.  G.  Morrow,  of 
Bloomington.^  It  is  recorded,  that  on  the  2nd  of  January, 
1839,  Samuel  Bumgardner,  of  Johnson  Count}',  sold  to 
J.  G.  ]Morrovv,  of  Muscatine  County,  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  section  ten,  township  seventy-nine  north,  range 
six,  west  of  the  tifth  principal  meridian.  This  quarter 
section  became  a  part  of  the  town  site.  The  territorial 
commissioners,  therefore,  in  consideration  of  the  claims 
of  Mr.  Morrow,  granted  him  the  privilege  of  bidding  in 
at  a  nominal  price  one  of  the  first  lots  offered  for  sale. 
The  second  exceptional  case  was  that  of  Andrew  D. 
Stephen  in  the  locating  of  the  seat  of  justice  for  Johnson 
County.  According  to  the  records,  Mr.  Stephen  had 
purchased  simp!}-  the  one  equal  undivided  half  of  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  fifteen.  But  from  another 
source-  it  is  learned  that  "A.  D.  Stephen,  Esq.,  held  the 
claim  and  resided  upon  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
fifteen."  It  is  further  learned  from  this  same  source 
that  the  county  commissioners  before  preempting  this 
quarter  section  purchased  the  same  of  Mr.  Stephen. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  in  two  cases  the  claims  of  the 
occupants  of  what  was  then  a  part  of  the  Public  Domain 
were  respected. 

The  first  claim  to  any  part  of  section  ten  was  made 
by  Samuel  Bumgardner  in  October,  1837-  It  included 
the  southwest  fractional  quarter;  and  according  to  the 
records  this  was  the  only  part  of  section  ten  claimed 
by  Mr.  Bumgardner.  But  it  is  also  recorded  that  Sam- 
uel Bumgardner  on  the  2nd  of  Januar}^  1S39,  ^°^^  to  J. 
G.  Morrow,  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  ten.    There- 

1  Bloomington  is  now  known  as  Muscatine. 

2  A  brief  sketch  of  the  early  history  of  Johnson  County,  written  by 
Cyrus  Sanders  and  Henry  Felkner. 


12  lozua   City. 

fore,  it  would  seem  that  Mr.  Bumgardner  had  claimed 
the  whole  south  half  of  section  ten.  On  the  4th  of  April, 
1839,  the  southwest  fractional  quarter  was  sold  to  John 
Kight.  The  north  half  of  section  ten  was  claimed  about 
the  15th  of  June,  183S,  by  Samuel  B.  MulhoUand  and 
William  Willson.  It  is  not  recorded  that  this  latter  claim 
was  ever  sold. 

As  to  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  fifteen,  it  is 
recorded  that  on  the  3rd  of  January,  1839,  Samuel  Bum- 
gardner sold  to  Andrew  D.  Stephen  "that  part  which 
Ives  east  of  the  Iowa  River."  On  the  20th  of  Februar}^ 
of  the  same  year,  Andrew  D.  Stephen  sold  to  Wilham 
Willson  "the  North  west  quarter  of  section  fifteen"  for 
the  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars.  Wihiam  Willson  held 
the  claim  a  little  over  eight  months  when  he  sold  "the 
one  Equal  undivided  half"  to  Andrew  D.  Stephen,  and 
the  other  equal  undivided  half  to  John  Kight.  It  is  prob- 
able that,  in  this  sale  bv  W^illiam  Willson  of  the  two 
equal  undivided  halves  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  sec- 
tion fifteen,  Mr.  Kight  got  the  north  half  and  Mr. 
Stephen  the  south  half.  This  supposition  is  based  on 
the  fact  that  Mr.  Right's  claim  in  section  ten  lay  just 
over  the  line  dividincr  sections  ten  and  fifteen.  Afrain  as 
to  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  fifteen,  it  is  recorded 
that  on  the  26th  of  February,  1S40,  Walter  Clark  made 
claim  to  "all  that  part  of  the  N  W  qr  of  Sect  15 
in  Township  79  N  R  6  west  which  Lyes  west  of  the 
Iowa  River  in  Johnson  County."  Over  a  year  after- 
wards it  is  further  written  that  Andrew  D.  Stephen 
wishes  to  have  the  same  portion  of  section  fifteen 
recorded  to  him  "if  not  recorded  to  John  Kight."  The 
records  do  not  show  that  it  was  ever  recorded  to  John 
Kight,  unless  it  was  included  in  the  "one  equal  undi- 
vided  half,"  which  was  "tpnt  claimed"  to  the  said  John 


Early  Land  Claims.  13 

Kight  by  William   Willson    on    the    ist  of  November, 
1839. 

These  records,  it  will  be  observed,  are  not  entirely 
satisfactor}'.  For  in  one  instance,  Mr.  Bumgardner  has 
only  a  part  of  the  south  half  of  section  ten  recorded  to 
him,  but  afterwards  sells  the  whole  of  the  south  half. 
Again,  in  the  case  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section 
fifteen  there  seems  to  be  a  little  vagueness.  Mr.  Bum- 
gardner sells  to  Andrew  D.  Stephen  that  part  which 
lies  east  of  the  Iowa  River.  But  Mr.  Stephen  bells 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  fifteen  to  William  Will- 
son.  INIr.  .Willson  divides  the  quarter  and  sells  it  again. 
Then  four  months  after  this  last  transfer  by  William 
Willson,  Walter  Clark  claims  "all  that  part  of  the  N  W 
qr  of  Sect  15  which  L^^es  west  of  the  Iowa  River." 
And  over  a  vear  after  this  Mr.  Stephen  asked  that  it  be 
recorded  to  him.  All  this  discrepancy  may,  however, 
be  explained  away  bv  the  probable  supposition  that  in 
certain  cases  claims  and  deeds  were  not  handed  in  for 
record.  The  preliminarv  surveys^  had  of  the  claims 
also  may  not  have  corresponded  exactly  to  the  subse- 
quent government  surveys.  Then  too,  claims  were  fre- 
quently forfeited,  in  which  cases  they  were  usually 
recorded  to  some  other  settler. 

Claims  to   Section  Ten.^ 

The  following  is  a  description  of  a  Part  of  a  claim  I  wish  recorded  that 
was  made  in  October  1S37.  the  same  beeing  two  fractions  the  south  west 
fractional  quarter  of  section  Ten  ifc  the  south  East  fractional  quarter  of 
section  nine  Lying  on  the  Iowa  River  Town  79.  N.  R  6.  W.  Johnson 
County  Iowa  Territory  containing  160  acrs.^ 
handed  in  3rd  April  1839  Sa.ml  Bcmgardxer 

1  Surveys  made  by  the  settlers  previous  to  the  government  surveys. 

*  The  Manuscript   Records  from    which  the  following  extracts  were 
taken  are  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  Iowa  State  Historical  Society. 

*  Taken  from  original  MS.,  page  11. 


14  lozva   City. 

The  following  is  a  description  of  a  claim  we  made  about  the  15  of  June 

1S3S.  beeing  the  N.  W.  qr  of  Sect  11  &  the  North  half  of  section  Ten 

Town  79  N  R  6.  West  of  5  principal  meridian  which  we  wish  recorded 

to  us' 

Samuel.  B.  Mulholland 

handed  in  April  6th  1S39  William.  Willsox. 

This  Indenture  made  this  second  day  of  January  1S39  between  Samuel 
Bumgardner  of  Johnson  County  and  Territory  of  Iowa  of  the  one  part 
and  J  G  Mori-ow  of  the  County  of  Muscatine  of  the  Territory  aforsaid 
of  the  other  part  Witnesseth  that  the  said  Samuel  Bumgardner  for  and 
in  concideration  of  the  sum  of  fift^'^  Dollars,  to  him  in  hand  paid  by  the 
said  J  G  Morrow,  the  receipt  whereof  is  hereby  acknowledged  has 
bargained  sold  and  quit  claim  deed  given  to  the  said  Morrow  to  a  certain 
tract  of  Land  clamed  by  him  described  as  follows,  beeing  the  south 
east  quarter  of  Section  Ten  (10)  Town  79  N  R  6  west  and  the  south 
West  quarter  of  section  Eleven  Town  79  N  R.  6.  W.  beeing  one  mile 
and  a  half  from  the  Town  line  of  Napoleon  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
Iowa  River  the  said  Bumgardner  for  and  in  concideration  of  the  amount 
of  money  paid  is  to  build  the  said  Morrow  upon  said  claim,  a  House  of 
the  following  dimensions  Viz  sixteen  by  14  Feet  wide  to  be  put  up  and 
covered  in  a  substantial  manner  with  Doors  t.\:  windows  said  House  to 
be  finished  by  the  16  day  of  March  A  D  1S39.  witness  our  hands  and 
seals  this  2  day  of  January  1S39.2  his 

Samuel  -|-  Bumgardner      [seal] 
witness  "i^"''^ 

Philip.  Clark  J  G  Morrow      [seal] 

A.  D.  Stephen 

handed  in  June  12th.  1S39. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presants  that  I  Samuel  Bumgardner  for  and  in 
consideration  of  one  hundred  Dollars  to  me  in  hand  paid  the  Receipt 
where  of  is  here  by  acknowledged  have  bargened  sold  and  for  ever  quit 
claimed  unto  John  Kight  all  my  right  title  interest  claim  estate  and 
demand  what  ever  to  all  those  tracts  or  parcels  of  land  known  and 
described  as  follows  the  same  beeing  two  fractional  quarters,  containing 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  situated  on  the  Iowa  River,  the 
same  beeing  the  south  west  fractional  quarter  of  Section  Ten  and  the 
South  East  fractional  quarter  of  section  Nine  Town  79.  N.  R  6  west  of 
the  5  principal  meridian  lying  tS:  beeing  in  the  County  of  Johnson  & 

1  Taken  from  original  MS.,  page  14. 
«/*/>/,  page  31. 


Early  Land  Claims.  15 

Territory  of  Iowa  against  the  claims  of  all  persons  Except  the  united 
states  I  warrcnt  cS:  defend  the  claim  above  mentioned  up  to  this  date 
given  under  my  hand  &  seal  this  4  day  of  April  1839.' 
handed  in  April  6th  1S39.  Samuel  Bumgardxer.     [L  S] 

Claims  to  the  Northwest  Quarter  of  Section 
Fifteen. 

This  quit  claim  Deed  made  this  third  day  of  January  1S39  witnesseth 
that  I.Samuel  Bumgardner  has  this  day  bargened  and  sold  and  by  these 
presents  doe  bargen  and  convey  to  Andrew  D  Stephen  (boath  partees 
of  the  County  of  Johnson  and  Territory  of  Iowa)  all  my  right  title 
interest  and  claim  in  and  to  the  following  Tract  or  parcel  of  land  lying 
and  beeing  in  the  county  and  Territory  aforesaid  the  same  beeing  the 
North  west  quarter  of  section  Fourteen  North  east  quarter  of  section 
tifteen  and  that  part  of  the  North  west  quarter  of  section  fifteen  that 
lyes  East  of  the  Iowa  River  the  above  quarters  beeing  in  seventy  Nine 
North  six  west  of  the  fifth  principal  meridian  for  the  sum  of  seventy 
five  Dollars,  to  me  in  hand  paid  by  the  said  Andrew  Stephen  given 
luider  my  hand  and  seal  and  date  above  written  ^ 

attest. 
Samuel.  H.  McCrory^  Samuel  Bu.mgardxer.     [L.  S.] 

Samuel  C  Trowbridge. 
admitted  to  record  March  15th  1S39. 

This  quit  claim  deed  made  this.  Twentieth  day  of  February  One  thou- 
sand Eight  hundred  iV:  Thirty  nine  witnesseth  that  A  D  Stephen  has 
this  day  bargened  sold  and  conveyed  and  by  these  presents  doe  bargen 
sell  and  convey  to  William  Willson  boath  parties  of  the  county  of 
Johnson  &  Territory  of  Iowa  A  certain  tract  parcel  or  claim  of  land 
lying  &.  beeing  in  the  county  of  Johnson  &  Territory  of  Iowa  the  same 
beeing  the  North  west  quarter  of  section  fifteen  Township  seventy  nine 
North  Range  6  west  of  the  5  principal  meridian  according  to  a  survey 
made  by  George  Bumgardner  for  the  sum  of  Two  hundred  Dollars. 
the  receipt  of  which  is  here  by  acknowledged  given  under  my  hand  this 
day  and  date  above  written  '• 

handed  in  March  16th  1839.     (Delivered) 

A  D  Stephen 

^  Taken  from  original  MS.,  page  14. 

*  Ibid,  page  i  • 

3  Secretary  of  the  Claim  Association. 

■*  Taken  from  original  MS.,  page  6. 


1 6  Iowa   City. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presants  that  I  William  Willson  for  and  in  con- 
cideration  of  the  sum  of  four  hundred  Dollars  to  me  in  hand  paid  the 
receipt  of  which  is  hereby  acknowledged  I  have  bargened  and  sold  and 
by  these  presants  do  for  ever  quit  claim  to  Andrew  D  Stephen  the  fol- 
lowing claim  tract  or  parcel  of  land  Lying  and  beeing  in  the  County  of 
Johnson  in  Territory  of  Iowa  the  same  beeing' the  one  Equal  undivided 
half  of  the  N.  W.  qr  of  Sect  15.  Town  79.  N.  R.  6.  west  and  the  one 
Equal  undivided  half  of  the  S.  W.  qr  of  Sect  Twenty  Three  (23)  Town 
79  N.  R.  6.  west  of  the  fifth  principal  meridian  given  under  my  hand 
and  seal  this  ist  day  of  November  1839. 

handed  in  November  ist  1839.  William  Wilson     [seal] 


Know  all  men  bv  these  presants  that  I  William  Wilson  has  this  day 
bargened  and  sold  by  these  presants  do  for  ever  quit  claim  to  John 
Kigh:  the  following  claim  tract  or  parcel  of  land  for  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  Dollars  the  receipt  of  which  is  here  by  acknowledged  the  same 
claim  tract  or  parcel  Land  lying  and  beeing  in  the  County  of  Johnson 
&  Territory  of  Iowa  and  beeing  the  one  equal  undivided  half  of  the  N 
W.  qr  of  Sect  15.  Town  79  N  R  6  west  of  the  fifth  principal  meridian 
given  under  my  hand  &  seal  this  first  day  of  November  1S39  - 

handed  in  November  ist.  William  Wilson     [seal] 


Walter  Clark  has  this  day  made  the  following  Claim  Towit  all  of  that 
part  of  the  N  W  qr  of  Sect  15  in  Township  79  N  R  6  west  which  Lyes 
west  of  the  Iowa  River  in  Johnson  County  Febuary  26t]i  1840' 

handed  in  Febuary  2Sth  1S40  Walter.   Clark 

The  Following  is  a  description  of  a  claim  if  not  recorded  to  Kight  and 
me  I  wish  you  to  record  it  to  me  made  this  10  da\'  of  March  1S41  that 
part  of  the  N  W  qr  of  Sect  15  Lying  west  of  the  River  Township  79  N 
Range  6  west  ■* 

handed  in  March  nth  1S41.  A   D  Steimien 

'  Taken  from  original  MS.,  page  40. 
^  /hid,  page  40. 
'  J  hid,  page  4 1 . 
■»  /bid,  page  49. 


Section  Ten  and  the  North-West  Quarter  of  Section  Fifteen. 

North  West  Quarter.  \  North  East  Quarter. 


MULHOLLAND   &    WiLLSON. 


0 


South  West  Quarter. 


South  East  ^larter. 


Samuel  BtJMGARDNER. 


John   Kight. 


J.  G.  Morrow. 


w  <"  John  Kight. 


^...|.Q.^_. 


U   < 


Andrew  D   Stephen. 


t5 


,  c 


II. 

THE    FOUNDING    OF   IOWA    CITY. 
Preliminary  Legislation. 

As  to  origin  and  causes  of  growth,  Iowa  City  differed 
widely  from  the  ordinary  town.  Usually  a  town  is  sim- 
ply the  expansion  of  a  small  community  —  a  country 
village  enlarged.  Sometimes  it  centers  about  a  mine, 
or  clings  to  some  great  river  course.  It  flourishes  at 
the  junction  or  terminus  of  large  railwa}-  systems.  It 
springs  up  where  flelds  are  fertile  and  harvests  abundant. 
And  favorable  commercial  points  are  never  long  without 
the  shop,  the  store  and  the  oflice.  In  all  cases  the  ordi- 
nary town  has  a  natural  unplanned  origin,  and  grows  by 
reason  of  the  superior  advantages  of  its  location.  With 
Iowa  Citv,  however,  it  is  all  different.  This  town  was 
not  simply  the  expansion  of  a  group  of  country  dwelling 
houses.  Without  mines,  it  had  over  one  thousand  inhab- 
itants before  railroads  had  reached  Chicago.  Before  the 
sod  of  the  surrounding  country  had  been  turned,  Iowa 
City  was,  wath  the  exception  of  Dubuque  and  Burlington, 
the  most  prominent  town  in  Iowa.  In  short,  Iowa  City 
was  a  speciallv  artificial  creation,  deliberately  planned 
and  created  by  the  Territory  of  Iowa  to  afford  a  location 
for  the  permanent  seat  of  government  of  the  Territory. 
Having  grasped  this  fact  we  have  the  key  to  the  origin, 
growth  and  character  of  the  town. 


1 8  lozva   City. 

The  founding  act  of  Iowa  Cit}-,  "An  Act  to  locate 
the  Seat  of  Government  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  and 
for  other  purposes,"  ^  passed  at  the  first  session  of  the 
first  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  was 
approved  January  21st,  1839.  This  act  provides  that 
the  Legislative  Assembly  shall  meet  at  Burlington  until, 
by  proclamation  of  the  Governor,  the  public  buildings  at 
the  permanent  seat  of  government  shall  be  declared 
ready  for  its  reception;  that  three  commissioners,  con- 
sisting of  one  person  from  each  judicial  district  of  the 
Territory,  shall  be  appointed  by  joint  ballot  of  the  Coun- 
cil and  House  of  Representatives,  to  locate  and  establish 
a  permanent  seat  of  government;  that  said  commission- 
ers, or  a  majority  of  them,  shall,  on  the  ist  day  of  May, 
meet  at  the  town  of  Napoleon  and  proceed  to  locate  the 
;seat  of  government  at  the  most  eligible  point  within  the 
limits  of  Johnson  Countv;  that  the}'  shall  agree  upon  a 
plan  and  issue  proposals  for  the  erection  of  the  necessary 
public  buildings;  that  they  shall  agree  upon  one  of  their 
number  to  be  "  Acting  Commissioner,"  whose  duty  it 
shall  be  to  superintend  daily  in  person  the  rearing  and 
finishing  of  said  buildings;  that  thev  shall  employ  one  or 
more  competent  surveyors  and  all  other  hands  necessar}- 
and  shall  have  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  laid 
out  in  lots,  out-lots,  streets,  squares,  and  alleys  at  the 
place  where  the  seat  of  government  is  located,  if  practi- 
cable; and  that  they  shall  have  the  town  platted. 

"An  Act  supplementary  to  'An  Act  to  locate  the 
Seat  of  Government  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  and  for 
other  purposes'"-  provided  further  that  so  soon  as  the 
place  shall   be  selected,   and  the  consent  of  the   United 

'  Stat.  Laws  of  la.  Ter.,  ist  Leg.  AssV,  page  435. 
8  Ihld,  page  437. 


TJic  Founding  of  hnva   City.  19 

States  obtained,  the  commissioners  shall  pi-oceed  to  lay 
out  a  town  to  be  called  "Io\va  City;"  that  after  a  plat 
of  the  town  shall  have  been  recorded,  the  Governor  shall 
direct  a  sale  of  lots  to  be  held  under  the  direction  of  the 
commissioners,  the  proceeds  of  which  shall  go  into  the 
Territorial  Treasury,  to  be  expended  as  may  be  directed 
by  law,  that  the  acting  commissioner  shall  give  bond  to 
the  United  States  in  the  penal  sum  of  forty  thousand 
dollars  for  faithful  performance  of  duty;  that  the  Gov- 
ernor shall  apply  to  Congress  for  a  donation  of,  or  a 
preemption  to,  four  sections  of  land  on  which  to  locate 
the  seat  of  government  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa;  and 
Chauncey  Swan,  John  Ronalds,  and  Robert  Ralston 
shall  act  as  commissioners  to  locate  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment and  superintend  the  erection  of  public  buildings. 

In  accordance  with  the  fourth  section  of  the  act  sup- 
plementary to  the  act  locating  the  seat  of  government  of 
the  Territory  of  Iowa,  and  in  the  manner  prescribed  b}' 
a  joint  resolution  1  of  the  Council  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, Congress  was  asked  to  donate  "at  least  four 
sections  on  which  to  locate  the  seat  of  government  of 
the  Territor}'  of  Iowa."  Congress  took  action  on  the 
matter  by  passing  "An  Act  making  a  donation  of  land 
to  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting 
public  buildings  thereon."  2  This  act  was  approved 
March  3rd,  1839.  -^^  directed  that  only  one  section  — 
instead  of  four  —  be  selected;  w'hich  section  must  be  on 
surveyed  lands.  Furthermore,  the  second  section  of  this 
act  provides,  "That  if,  at  the  time  of  the  selection  of 
land  to  be  made  as  aforesaid,  the  contiguous  sections 
thereto  have  not  been  made  subject  to  public  sale,  or 

^  Resolution  No.   12,  Stat.  Laws  of  la.  Ter.,  ist  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  519. 
2  U.  S.  Stat,  at  Large,  Vol.  V,  330. 


20  Iowa   City. 

being  so  subject  have  not  been  been  sold  at  public  sale 
or  by  private  entry,  then  each  and  every  section  con- 
tiguous to  said  selected  section,  and  not  so  sold,  shall  be 
thereafter  reserved  and  withheld  from  sale  in  any  man- 
ner, until  the  further  order  of  Congress  thereon."  This 
provision  was  not  repealed  until  August,  1842.^ 

Selecting  the  Site. 

It  now  remained  for  the  territorial  commissioners  to 
select  the  site.  The  morning  of  May  ist,  1839,  found  a 
small  group  of  somewhat  roughl}-  clad  pioneer  settlers 
collected  at  Napoleon  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  commis- 
sioners. For  over  three  months  these  sturd}'  farmers 
had  been  looking  forward  to  the  coming  of  the  commis- 
sioners with  intense  interest  and  delight.  But  on  this 
particular  morning  they  carried  a  look  which  betrayed 
anxiety.  Each  man  desired  that  the  location  be  made 
near  his  own  claim,  yet  at  the  same  time  he  was  fearful 
lest  it  should  include  his  land  and  improvements.  For, 
they  all  well  knew  that  they  had,  to  the  land  they 
occupied,  no  rights  which  the  United  States  or  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Iowa  were  bound  to  respect.  But  as  the  day 
advanced  this  anxiety  took  an  unexpected  turn. 

BurHngton  and  the  counties  in  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  Territory  were  bitterly  opposed  to  locating  the  seat 
of  government  in  Johnson  County.  And  it  was  thought 
that  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  prevent  a  majority 
of  the  commissioners  from  meeting  on  the  ist  day  of 
May  as  directed  by  law.^  The  only  commissioner  on 
the  grounds  on  the  morning  of  May  ist,  was  Chauncey 
Swan,  of  Dubuque  County.     As  noonday  approached, 

1  U.  S.  Stat,  at  Large,  Vol.  VI,  846. 
*  loivii  I/istoykiil  Jircord,  Vol.  VI,  564. 


The  Founding  of  Iowa  City.  21 

and  no  other  commissioner  appeared,  the  crowd  began 
to  suspect  fraud.  There  was  now  excitement  and  alarm 
lest  the  entire  county  should  be  cheated  out  of  the 
prized  location. 

It  is  said  that  about  noon  the  excitement  became 
intense,  when  Chauncey  Swan  mounted  a  dry-goods  box 
and  made  a  short  speech  to  the  agitated  crowd,  present- 
ing the  situation  as  follows:  The  Legislative  Assembly 
had  directed  the  locating  commissioners  to  meet  at  Napo- 
leon on  the  iirst  day  of  May.  Should  a  majority  of  them 
fail  to  meet  on  that  day,  their  actions  would  be  null  and 
void.  Chauncey  Swan  then  called  for  a  volunteer  who 
would  undertake  to  bring  another  commissioner  before 
midnight.  This  certainly  seemed  like  a  hopeless  under- 
taking; for  John  Ronalds,  of  Louisa  County,  the  nearest 
commissioner,  resided  thirty-tive  miles  from  Napoleon. 
It  would,  therefore,  require  a  ride  of  seventy  miles  in 
twelve  hours,  including  all  stoppages  and  ferrying  the 
Cedar  River  both  going  and  coming.  But  a  young  lad 
named  Philip  Clark  stepped  boldly  out  and  volunteered 
his  services. 

Henry  Felkner,  who  was  among  the  anxious  crowd 
at  Napoleon  on  that  memorable  May  day,  continues  the 
narrative  as  follows :  "  Of  course  there  was  much  anxiety 
lest  the  effort  should  prove  a  failure.  Fears  were  enter- 
tained that  [John]  Ronalds  might  not  be  at  home,  or 
not  disposed  to  come,  or  that  he  could  not  reach  the 
place  in  time.  But  these  were  all  idle  fears,  for  as  soon 
as  [Phihp]  Clark  told  him  the  situation  he  got  ready  at 
once  and  they  started  with  the  determination  to  reach 
their  destination  in  time.  While  they  were  going  at 
their  best  speed  the  watchers  at  Napoleon  had  their 
doubts    and  their    fears,   and   as   it   began    to    draw   on 


22  lozva   City, 

towards  midnight,  and  no  tidings,  their  fears  began  to 
give  way  to  despair.  [Chauncey]  Swan  often  consulted 
his  watch  and  then  would  send  some  one  out  to  listen. 
But  no  sound  could  be  heard.  This  was  repeated  fre- 
quently, until  at  last  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs  were 
heard  in  the  distance,  approaching  rapidly.  They  did 
not  slack  up  till  they  had  arrived  at  the  place  of  meeting. 
And  when  the  riders  dismounted  and  went  in,  |  Chaun- 
cey] Swan  again  consulted  his  watch  and  found  that 
it  was  just  live  minutes  to  twelve  o'clock."  Robert 
Walker,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  was  on  hand  to  admin- 
ister the  oath,  which  was  signed  by  the  commissioners 
and  the  date  "May  ist,  1839"  thereunto  afhxed.  It  has, 
however,  been  shrewdly  intimated  by  one  present,  that 
perhaps  the  hands  of  Mr.  Swan's  watch  were  turned 
back  that  night;  "for  it  was  noticed  that  from  midnight 
to  sunrise  were  the  shortest  six  hours  on  record."  It  is 
not  improbable  that  Mr.  Swan  did  either  stop  his  watch 
or  turn  back  its  hands;  for  it  is  difficult  to  understand 
how  a  man  on  horseback  could  travel  seventy  miles  in 
twelve  hours  over  such  roads  as  existed  in  the  Territory 
at  that  time. 

On  the  morning  of  Ma}'  2nd  the  two  commissioners, 
Chauncey  Swan  and  John  Ronalds,  "proceeded  to  exam- 
ine the  County  of  Johnson  with  a  view  to  select  the  most 
eligible  point  for  said  location."  ^  They  did  some  pre- 
liminary surveying.  The  location  was  finally  made  on 
Section  Ten,  Township  Seventy-Nine  North,  Range  Six 
West  of  the  Fifth  Principal  Meridian,  on  the  4th  day 
fjf  May,  one  thousand  eiglit  hundred  and  thirt3'-nine. 
The  site  was  indicated  by  a  post  or  slab,  driven  in  the 

'  Report  of  Acting  Com.,  House  Jour.,  2nd  Log.  Ass'j,  la.  Ter., 
page  90. 


The  Founding  of  loiva   City.  23. 

ground  about  where  the  old  capitol  building  now  stands, 
bearing  the  following  inscription  i^ 

SEAT   OF   GOVERNMENT, 

CITY  OF  IOWA. 

May  4th^  iS^g. 

C.  Swan,  1 

John  Ronalds,      y  Commissioners. 

RoBT.  Ralston,   j 

Witness^ 

Geo.  W.  Kelly,  ]  ^^      ,r  • 
T    TT    A/r  T^  '  ^^s  Moines. 

J.  H.  McKenny,  S 

J.  W.  IsETT,  Louisa. 

J.  Dillon,  Dubuque. 

Sec.  10,  T.  79,  R.  6,  W.  5th  Mer. 

Robert  Ralston,  of  Des  Moines  County,  the  commis- 
sioner who  did  not  appear  at  the  meeting  on  the  ist  of 
May,  arrived  at  Napoleon  on  the  6th  of  May  and  agreed 
to  the  proceedings  of  the  majority  of  the  commission- 
ers. ^  On  the  7th  day  of  May,  Chauncey  Swan  was 
appointed  by  the  board,  "  Acting  Commissioner  "  to 
superintend  in  person  the  affairs  in  connection  with  the 
seat  of  government.^ 

The  commissioners  after  making  the  location  on  the 
4th  day  of  May  agreeable  to  the  laws  of  the  Territory, 
found  that  by  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  3rd,  1839, 
the    location    was    to    be    made    on    "  surveyed    lands." 

1  Chas.  Negus  in  Annals  of  lo-vn.  Vol.  VII,  326. 

*  Report  of  Acting  Com.,  House  Jour.,  2nd  Leg.  Ass'j,  la.  Ter.,  90. 

*  Ibid^  page  90. 


24  lozua   City. 

Thereupon  the  commissioners  unanimously  agreed  to 
send  a  memorial  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
respectfully  requesting  a  special  survey  of  two  town- 
ships in  Johnson  County,  embracing  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment.^ The  object  of  this  was  to  make  the  location  as 
perfect  as  possible  under  the  act  of  Congress  as  well  as 
that  of  the  Territory.  Accompanying  the  memorial, 
which  was  forwarded  by  Chauncey  Swan  from  Dubuque, 
was  a  request  from  the  Surveyor  General's  office  at 
Dubuque,  calling  for  the  survey  of  twelve  other  town- 
ships, in  addition  to  the  two  townships  above  mentioned.. 
The  commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  at  Wash- 
ington immediately  ordered  the  survey  of  the  two 
townships  as  requested  by  the  commissioners  in  their 
memorial.  2 

It  was  further  provided  by  the  act  of  March  3rd,  1839, 
that  notice  of  the  selection  shall,  within  one  year  from 
the  passing  of  the  act,  be  officially  returned  to  the  Regis- 
ter of  the  Land  Office  in  the  district  in  which  the  land  is 
situated.  This  provision  was  complied  with  in  October, 
1839.  When  at  the  second  sale  of  lots  in  Iowa  City, 
which  took  place  early  in  October,  John  Ronalds  and 
Chauncey  Swan,  commissioners,  "did  then  and  there 
give  notice  to  the  Register  of  the  Land  Office  at  Du 
Buque,  that  the  seat  of  Government  of  Iowa  Territory 
was  located  on  section  ten.  Township  seventy-nine  north, 
and  Range  six  west  of  the  fifth  principal  meridian. "^ 

1  Report  of  Acting  Com.,  House  Jour.,  2nd  Leg.  AssV,  la.  Ter., 
page  93- 

•  The  cominissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  regretted  that  on 
account  of  scarcity  of  funds  he  could  not  order  the  survey  of  the  addi- 
tional twelve  townships. 

*  Report  of  Acting  Com.,  House  Jour.,  2nd  Leg.  Ass'y,  la.  Ter., 
page  92. 


The  Founding  of  Iowa   City.  25 

The  Site. 

Judging  from  the  present  appearance  of  Iowa  City, 
with  its  seven  thousand  inhabitants,  its  University,  its 
houses  and  graded  lots,  its  semi-graded  streets  and  door- 
yard  trees  and  bushes,  it  would  be  impossible  to  form 
anything  like  a  realistic  conception  of  the  town  site  as 
it  presented  itself  to  the  territorial  commissioners  in 
May,  1839. 

As  early  as  October,  1837,  a  claim  was  made  to  a  part 
of  the  site  bv  a  pioneer  farmer.  ^  But  up  to  the  time 
of  the  meeting  of  the  commissioners,  little  or  nothing- 
had  been  done  in  the  way  of  preparing  the  ground  for 
cultivation.  The  whole  site,  therefore,  was  practically 
in  its  wild  and  natural  state.  It  was  a  wilderness,  in 
which  the  Indian  camp-tires  had  scarcely  gone  out. 
Poweshiek  with  over  a  thousand  red  men  camped  but  a 
few  miles  to  the  south.  Few  white  men  had  settled 
farther  west. 

A  Burlington  newspaper  of  that  day  says:  "The  most 
vivid  imagination  can  scarcely  picture  to  itself  so  capti- 
vating a  spot,  situated  in  the  midst  of  all  that  wild  and 
rural  scenery  which  can  tend  to  embelHsh  and  render  it 
desirable.  The  river  first  approaches  the  town  from  the 
north,  through  rocky  banks  of  moderate  height,  covered 
with  a  thick  grove  of  stately  trees,  and  then  runs  to  the 
south,  and  flows  off  between  unequal  banks  scattered 
over  with  venerable  oaks.  Opposite  the  city,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  the  banks  are  abrupt  and  bold, 
and  rise  from  the  water's  ed<je  about  fiftv  feet  above 
its  surface  to  the  level  of  a  smooth  prairie,  which  ap- 
proaches the  bank  of  the  river  at  this  place  and  then 
sweeps  off  westward  in  beautiful  undulations  of  hill  and 

1  See  Chapter  I  on  "  Early  Land  Claims,"  page  13. 


26  lo'va   City. 

dale."     These   banks  of   the   Iowa   River  contained  an 
inexhaustible  store  of  good  building  rock. 

Added  to  resources  of  the  earth  was  an  abundance  of 
timber.  The  large  grove  near  the  site  was  described  in 
these  words:  "Big  Grove,  which  is  situated  between 
the  Iowa  and  Cedar  Rivers,  has  been  pronounced  to  be 
one  of  the  largest  and  best  bodies  of  timber  in  the 
Territory,  being  about  twent}'  miles  in  length,  with  an 
average  width  of  six  or  seven  miles."  As  for  building 
material  the  town  could  not  have  been  more  favorably 
located.  The  surrounding  countr}'^  was  a  variation  of 
hill,  prairie  and  forest. 

Surveying  the  Town. 

Nearly  two  months  after  the  locating  of  Iowa  City, 
the  town  survey  was  begun.  "On  the  twenty-seventh 
day  of  June,  A.  D.,  1839,  ^'^  ^^'^^  ordered  by  the  board 
of  locating  commissioners,  that  Thomas  Cox  and  John 
Frierson^  should  be  employed  to  survey  Iowa  City,  and 
L.  Judson  to  draw  the  necessary  plats."  In  company 
with  these  men  and  the  necessary  hands,  Chauncey 
Swan,  the  acting  commissioner,  returned  to  Iowa  Cit}' 
in  the  latter  part  of  June,  and  on  the  ist  day  of  July 
began  the  work  of  la3-ing  out  the  town  into  streets, 
alleys,  squares,  blocks  and  lots.- 

The  surveys  were  well  under  way  when  all  work  was 
suspended  in  honor  oi  a  public  celebration.  It  was  the 
Fourth  of  July,  1S39.  '^^^  settlers  of  the  neighborhood 
in  conjunction  with  the  town  surveyors  had  planned 
what  they  were  pleased  to  call  "a  good  old-fashioned 

'  Thomas  Cox  represented  Jackson  County,  and  John  Frierson  repre- 
icnted  Muscatine  Countv  in  the  First  Legislative  Assembly  of  Iowa. 

*"  It  is  a  well  known  fact"  says  Mr.  .Swan  in  a  report  to  the  Assembl}', 
•'especially'    lo  surveyors,    that    this    is  a  very    unfavorable    season    of 


The  Founding  of  Jowa   City.  27 

celebration,"  to  be  held  on  the  site  of  the  future  capitol. 
A  tall  young  oak  tree,  which  stood  on  the  spot  now 
occupied  by  the  old  capitol  building,  was  stripped  of  its 
branches  and  to  its  top  the  national  flag  attached.  Here 
for  the  first  time  the  stars  and  stripes  were  unfurled  to 
wave  over  the  frontier  capital.  The  day  was  a  pleasant 
one.  Pioneer  settlers  for  miles  around  came  together 
to  enjoy  this  first  crude  social  event.  Many  of  them 
shook  hands  on  this  occasion  for  the  tirst  time.  The 
regular  dinner  was  prepared  at  an  Indian  trading  house  ^ 
about  four  miles  down  the  Iowa  River  and  brought  to 
the  celebration  in  a  lumber  wagon.  Added  to  this 
regularly  prepared  meal  were  the  baskets  of  provisions 
brought  by  the  settlers.  At  the  proper  time  this  '"  picnic 
dinner"  was  served  on  w^agon  boxes,  lifted  from  the 
very  wagons  which  had  brought  the  settlers  and  their 
families  "to  town."  x\fter  dinner  toasts  were  offered 
and  responded  to.  The  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  read.  John  Frierson  delivered  the  oration  of  the 
day.  2  While  delivering  this  oration  the  speaker  stood 
in  a  wagon  which  had  been  drawn  into  the  shade  to 
serve  as  a  platform. 

the  year  for  surveying  in  the  western  country,  in  consequence  of  the 
luxuriant  growth  of  vegatation,  accompanied  by  the  heavy  dews  that 
prevail  at  "this  season  of  the  year,  making  it  almost  impossible  to  com- 
mence the  labors  of  the  day  at  anything  like  an  early  hour,  without 
exposure  to  sickness  and  death.  The  consequence  is  that  only  about 
two-thirds  of  a  day's  labor  can  be  performed  in  twenty-four  hours." 
— ^Journal  of  the  House  of  Rep.  of  2nd  Ass'y,  Ter.  of  Iowa,  122. 

1  This  trading  post  was  known  as  "  Gilbert's  Trading  House."  The 
dinner  was  prepared  by  Jonathan  Harris,  who  at  that  time  was  keeping 
tavern  at  the  trading  house. 

*  The  orator  is  described  by  Cyrus  Sanders  as  a  tall,  spare,  raw-boned 
and  hard-featured  man,  who  stood  up  in  a  wagon  with  one  foot  elevated 
upon  a  barrel  of  Cincinnati  whiskey  and  made  a  speech  far  surpassing 
in  eloquence  and  ability  the  average  productions  on  similar  occasions. 


28  loiva   City. 

After  the  celebration  "the  work  of  surveying  the  town 
was  pushed  forward  energetically.  The  ground  for  the 
capitol  square  was  selected  first,  the  southeast  corner 
being  established  as  the  initial  starting  point.  From  that 
point  the  west  line  of  Clinton  street  was  run  north  and 
south,  and  established  as  a  meridian  line.  The  survey 
was  extended  eastwardly  and  westwardly  without  ever 
having  an}-  definite  base  line  established.  The  lines 
were  run  with  an  ordinary  surveyor's  compass,  and 
measured  with  a  pole  twenty  feet  long,  made  of  two 
strips  cut  from  a  board  and  nailed  together.  It  was 
graduated  to  feet  and  inches  by  a  carpenter's  square, 
and  afterwards  each  end  was  bound  with  a  hoop  of  iron; 
and  in  measuring,  tally  pins  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch 
in  diameter  were  used,  which  added  about  three-six- 
teenths of  an  inch  to  every  twenty  feet."^ 

The  special  survey  of  township  seventy-nine,  ^  ordered 
by  the  commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  at 
Washington,  was  so  far  completed  before  the  survey  of 
the  town  was  finished,  that  the  bounds  of  the  town  were 
closed  on  the  government  lines  as  established  by  the 
surveyor  appointed  to  survev  the  said  township.  At  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  section  a  monument  of  rough 
grey  limestone  was  erected  as  a  permanent  landmark. 
It  still  stands  on  Summit  street,  a  novel  relic  of  the 
founding  of  Iowa  City.  Covered  with  the  marks  of  an 
advertising  dry-goods  merchant  it  certainly  reflects  dis- 
credit upon  the  art  sense  of  the  present  residents  of  Iowa 
City,  who  are  content  to  allow  such  ruthless  defacing  of 

1  Cvrus  Sanders  in  a  brief  sketch  of  the  early  history  of  Johnson 
County. 

*  John  Frierson  was  appointed  by  the  Surveyor  General  of  Iowa  and 
Wisconsin  to  make  this  survev. 


The  Founding  of  Jozva   City. 


29 


historical  landmarks.     There  are  two  inscriptions  on  this 
historic  monument. 

The  inscription  on  the 

side  facing  the  west  reads : 

IOWA    CITY 

The  Capital  of 

Iowa  Territory 

as  situated  on 

Section  N"  10. 

Township  79  N.   R. 

6  W  of  the  5tii  Pr  M 

located 

May  4th  1S39 

By  Mess''s 

Chauncey  Swan 

John  Ronalds 

and 
Robert  Ralston 
Comm'"«  &  Surveyed 
By  Mess's 
Cox  Frierson  &  Judson 
under  the  direction  of 
C.  Swan  Actg  Com 
"  It  required  over  two  thousand  stakes  to  be  used  on 
the  location  and  something  like  iifty  hewed  posts   from 
six  inches  to  one  foot  square,  and  from  six  to  nine  feet 
long  for  the  corners  of  the  town  plat,  the  public  square, 
and  reservations.    For  boarding  the  surveyors  and  hands 
employed,  I  paid  at  the  rate  of  four  dollars  per  week. 
The  amount  paid  for  surveying,  including  all  the  expense 
of   surveyor's    hands,  teams,   setting  of   posts,    and   the 
necessary  plats  of  the  city  is  $1,476.99."^ 

^  Report   of   Acting    Com.,    House   Jour.,    2nd    Leg.  Ass'y,    la.  Ter^ 
page  122. 


The  inscription  on  the 
side  facing  the  east  reads: 

M.  VANBUREN 

President  of  the  u.  s. 

and 

R.  LUCAS 

Gov.  of  the  Territory 


30  lozua   City. 

The  Town  Plat. 
L.  Judson's  plan  of  Iowa  City  as  drawn  by  him  in 
1839,  ^"^^  ^^^'^  °^^  ^y  ^^^^  surveyors,  was  appropriate 
for  a  capital  city.  The  streets  were  run  directly  east 
and  west,  and  north  and  south.  A  square  of  about 
twelve  acres  w^as  laid  out  on  the  eminence  near  the  west 
boundary  of  the  town.  This  square  commanded  a  view 
of  the  Iowa  River  on  the  west,  and  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  town  on  the  east.  It  was  designated  "  Capitol 
Square,"  being  specially  reserved  as  a  site  for  the  public 
buildings.  The  block  upon  which  the  Chemical  Labora- 
tory of  the  State  University  now  stands  was  to  be  the 
city  "  Park."  On  the  extreme  eastern  boundary  of  the 
section  an  out-lot,  west  of  Governor  street  and  lying 
between  the  Avenue  and  Washington  street,  was  re- 
served as  "  Governor's  Square."  The  present  College- 
hill  Park  was  designated  on  the  map  as  "  College 
Greeji."  Three  squares,  each  equal  to  the  ordinary 
block,  were  reserved  in  different  parts  of  the  town  as 
markets.  "  North  Market "  included  the  southeast  quar- 
ter of  block  thirty-five,  the  southwest  quarter  of  block 
thirty,  the  northwest  quarter  of  block  twent3--nine  and 
the  northeast  quarter  of  block  thirty-six.  "Center  Mar- 
ket "  was  the  block  now  occupied  by  the  city  Grammar 
and  Hiijfh  Schools.  "  South  Market  "  included  the  block 
upon  which  the  B.  C.  R.  «&  N.  R.  R.  depot  now^  stands. 
The  west  half  of  block  sixty  was  reserved  for  school 
purposes.  Four  reservations  were  made  for  churches. 
These  reservations  were  located  as  follows:  The  south 
half  of  block  fifty-one  on  Church  street  between  Gilbert 
and  Van  Buren  streets;  the  south  half  of  block  thirteen 
on  Church  street  between  Dodge  and  Lucas  streets; 
the  south   half  of  block  sixty-seven  on  Jefferson  street 


The  Fotinding  of  lozua   City.  31 

between  Dubuque  and  Linn  streets;  and  the  north  half 
of  block  sixty-six  on  the  A\enue  between  Dubuque 
and  Linn  streets.  The  ground  next  to  the  Iowa  River, 
being  reserved  for  public  purposes,  was  designated  as 
the  "Promenade."  A  narrow  strip  of  ground  bordering 
on  the  river  and  lying  between  Market  and  Davenport 
streets  was  marked  "Lumber  Yard."^  The  south  half 
of  block  twenty  was  designated  on  the  plat,  "  Mineral 
Springs."  It  was  supposed  that  valuable  mineral  springs 
were  located  at  this  point. 

According  to  the  original  plat  there  were  twenty- 
three  streets,  one  avenue  and  one  promenade.  The 
names  of  the  streets  running  east  and  west  were:  (begin- 
ning on  the  north)  Brown,  Ronalds,  Church,  Fairchild, 
Davenport,  Bloomington,  Market,  Jefferson,  Iowa  Ave- 
nue, Washington,  College  and  Burlington.  The  names 
of  those  running  north  and  south  were:  (beginning  on 
the  east)  Governor,  Lucas,  Dodge,  Johnson  Van  Buren, 
Gilbert,  Linn,  Dubuque,  Clinton,  Capitol,  Madison  and 
Front.  It  will  be  noticed  that  in  the  naming  of  the 
streets,  there  was  a  predominant  tendency  to  use  the 
names  of  men  of  note. 

Iowa  Avenue  was  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  wide; 
Washington,  Jefferson,  Clinton,  Capitol  and  Madison 
streets  were  each  one  hundred  feet,  and  all  others  were 
eighty  feet.  Alleys  were  twent}'  feet.  The  national 
road  ran  on  a  line  with  the  Avenue  directly  w^est  across 
the  river.  One  hundred  blocks,  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-four  lots,  and  thirty-one  out-lots  are  marked  on  the 
plat.  The  blocks  as  laid  off  were  three  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  square,  and  the  regular  lots  eighty  by  one 

1  The  Lumber  Yard  and  Promenade  were  laid  out  into  lots  in  1843 
by  the  Territorial  Agent,  John  M.  Coleman. 


32  Iowa   City. 

hundred  and  fifty  feet.  Beginning  with  the  monument  at 
the  southeast  corner,  there  was  a  row  of  out-lots  laid  out 
along  the  east  boundary  of  the  section.  There  were 
also  similar  rows  of  out-lots  along  the  north  and  south 
boundaries. 


The  First  Inhabitants. 

When  the  acting  commissioner,  Chauncey  Swan,  re- 
turned from  Dubuque  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  1839,  ^^ 
direct  the  surveys  of  Iowa  City  there  seem  to  have  been 
at  least  three  dwelling  houses  on  the  site.  These  were 
plain,  ordinary  claim  cabins  built  of  logs.  One  was 
located  on  the  site  of  the  present  residence  of  Mrs.  Sarah 
A.  Mvers,  on  Clinton  street  in  block  21,  and  was  occupied 
by  Matthew  Teneick  and  and  family.  ^  Here  the  acting 
commissioner  had  his  headquarters  while  conducting  the 
surveys.  The  other  two  cabins  were  situated  near  what 
afterwards  became  the  corner  of  Brown  and  Gilbert 
streets.  These  two  cabins — one  of  which  was  built  in 
February  and  the  other  in  June — -being  only  twenty  feet 
apart  and  united  under  a  common  roof,  were  used  as  a 
tavern,  the  enclosed  space  between  forming  a  large  bar- 
room. The  proprietors  were  George  T.  Andrews  and 
Asaph  Allen. 

Soon  after  the  location  was  made  in  May,  Matthew 
Teneick  began  to  prepare  timber  for  a  regular-  dwelling 
house.  This  house  was  constructed  of  "good  sized 
hewed  logs,"  and  stood  on  the  corner  of  Iowa  Avenue 

'  This  was  the  first  family  to  make  a  permanent  location  in  Iowa  City. 
Hannah  Teneick  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  Iowa  City. 

*  Reyular  dwelling  house  as  distinguished  from  the  temporary  claim 
cabin. 


The  Founding  of  lozt-a   City.  33 

and  Dubuque  street,  or  directly  across  the  street  south 
of  Close  Hall.  It  was  rinished  before  any  of  the  town 
lots  were  offered  for  sale;  but  Mr.  Teneick  had  no  title 
to  the  ground  on  which  it  was  built.  Chauncey  Swan, 
however,  promised  to  use  his  influence  in  preventing 
any  outsider  from  bidding  on  the  lot.  Accordingly  when 
the  lot  was  offered  at  the  public  sale,  Chauncey  Swan 
made  a  statement  of  the  facts  to  the  crowd,  and  Mr. 
Teneick  was  allowed  without  opposition  to  take  the  lot 
at  the  minimum  valuation  of  three  hundred  dollars.^ 

It  is  further  recorded  by  Cyrus  Sanders  that,  previous 
to  the  first  sale  of  lots,  Joseph  Coe,  who  had  erected  a 
log  house  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Clinton  and  Jeffer- 
son streets,  and  Walter  Butler  who  had  erected  a  frame 
for  a  hotel  in  block  80  on  Clinton  street  (near  the  pres- 
ent location  of  Bloom's  clothing  house),  were  both  per- 
mitted to  bid  in  their  lots  at  the  minimum  price  fixed 
upon  them.  But  Wesley  Jones,  who  had  erected  a  frame 
for  a  store^  in  block  84  on  W^ashington  street,  and  John 
Willison,  who  had  dug  a  cellar  on  the  northeast  corner 
of  Clinton  and  Jefferson  streets  with  the  expectation  of 
getting  their  lots  at  the  minimum  price  were  disap- 
pointed, "as  the  bidders  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  claim  business,  in  western  parlance,  was  about  played 
out." 

The  most  noteworthy  building  erected  before  the  first 
sale  of  lots,  was  a  temporary  tavern  which  stood  in  block 
61,  near  the  corner  of  Linn  and  Washington  streets.  It 
was  a  small  building  and  bore  the  appropriate  name  of 

1  During  a  visit  to  Iowa  Citj  in  the  autumn  of  1S39,  Robert  Lucas 
was  entertained  in  this  house.  After  having  been  occupied  as  a  resi- 
dence, tavern  and  boarding  house  for  about  twenty  years,  it  took  fire 
and  burned  down. 

2  This  was  the  fir^t  frame  building  erected  in  Iowa  City. 


34  lozua  City. 

"  Lean-back  Hall."  Erected  hastily  of  poles,  it  had  a 
rough  board  attachment  which  extended  back  some  fifty 
or  sixty  feet  for  sleeping  accommodations.  Lean-back 
Hall  was  built  in  a  few  days,  and  contained  a  barroom, 
kitchen,  dining  hall  and  one  lodging  room.  The  lodgmg 
room,  it  is  said,  had  but  one  bed;  but  this  bed  was  large 
enough  to  accommodate  thirty-six  men.  "This  number 
reposed  in  it  many  a  night,  and  no  complaint  was  ever 
entered  against  it."^ 

KoTE. — Early  in  the  month  of  October  occurred  the  death  of  Cor- 
delia, the  only  daughter  of  Chauncev  Swan.  "Little  Cordelia"  was 
buried  in  the  old  cemetery  and  her  little  round  tombstone  still  marks 
the  first  grave  made  in  that  cemetery. 

The    First    Sales    of    Lots. 

At  the  Fourth  of  July  celebration"  it  was  officially 
announced  that  there  would  be  a  public  sale  of  lots  on 
the  1 8th  of  August.  The  Governor's  proclamation  of 
the  sale  was  published  in  eastern  papers.  Six  hundred 
and  thirty  dollars  were  expended  by  the  acting  commis- 
sioner for  eleven  hundred  lithographic  maps  of  Iowa 
City.  These  maps  were  sold  throughout  the  Territory 
at  the  rate  of  seventy-five  cents  for  the  ordinary  sheet 
map  and  one  dollar  for  the  pocket  map.-'' 

During  the  early  part  of  August  the  arrivals  of  strang- 
ers at  the  seat  of  government  became  more  numerous; 
so  that  bv  the  morning  of  the  eighteenth  it  was  a  con- 
siderable crowd  that  gathered  about  Lean-back  Hall. 
There  were  present  several  capitalists  from  the  east, 
citizens    from    the    eastern    part   of    the   Territory,  and 

'  Frederick  M.  Irish  in  Annals  oj  /ctiw,  January,  1S69. 

*  .See  chapter  II  on  "The  Founding  of  Iowa  City,  page  26. 

•  One  of  these  pocket  maps  has  been  preserved  in  the  State  Historical 
Library. 


The  Founding  of  lozva   City.  35 

settlers  from  the  neighboring  country.  At  the  proper 
time  "  Mr.  Dougherty,  of  Dubuque,  who  was  employed 
as  auctioneer,  mounted  a  wagon  and  announced  the  terms 
of  the  sale.^  The  wagon  then  moved  off,  and  the  crowd 
followed  on  to  a  lot  near  ivhere  the  North  Presbyterian 
Church  now  stands,  which  was  the  first  lot  offered  for 
sale,  and  was  knocked  off  to  John  Trout,  an  employe  of 
the  American  Fur  Company,  for  $100.  They  then 
moved  on  to  the  next  lot  offered,  and  so  continued 
during  the  day,  moving  from  lot  to  lot  as  sold,  with 
occasional  intermissions  for  refreshments  at  Lean-back 
Hall.2 

This  first  public  sale  of  lots  continued  for  three  days, 
during  which  time  one  hundred  lots  were  sold,  amount- 
ing to  $17,292.75.  Of  the  one  hundred  lots  thus  sold, 
six  were  forfeited,  which  leaves  the  amount  for  which 
certificates  were  actually  given,  $16,571.75.  The  lots 
previously  selected  to  be  offered  at  this  sale  were  the 
alternate  lots  in  the  blocks  in  the  vicinity  of  Capitol 
Square.  The  average  price  paid  for  these  lots  was 
about  $176.30;  the  lowest  price  paid  was  $25.00;  and 
the  highest  price  was  $750.00. 

At  the  second  public  sale  of  lots  which  was  held  on 
the  loth,  nth  and  12th  of  October,  one  hundred  and  six 
lots  were  sold.     This  number  includes  the  six  lots  that 

1  The  purchaser  was  required  to  pay  one-fourth  down  cash;  the  le- 
mainder  in  six,  twelve  and  eighteen  months;  notes  were  required  in 
every  case,  payable  to  the  acting  commissioner  or  his  successor  in  otfice 
at  Iowa  City. 

*  From  an  unfinished  history  of  Johnson  County  by  Messrs.  Felkner 
&  Sanders.  According  to  an  abstract  in  the  House  Jour.,  la.  Ter.,  4th 
Leg.  Ass'y,  page  40,  no  sales  were  made  on  the  iSth  of  August.  But 
the  information  in  the  paragraph  as  given  above  is  based  on  the  state- 
ment of  an  eye  witness  and  is  perhaps  correct,  the  abstract  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding. 


36  Iowa   City. 

had  been  forfeited  ^  after  the  first  sale,  also  three  out- 
lots.  Up  to  the  1st  of  November  certificates^  had  been 
given  for  only  eighty-four  lots  and  three  out-lots,  amount- 
ing to  the  sum  of  $10,168.00.  The  average  price  paid 
at  this  sale  was  $115.72;  the  lowest  price  was  $20.00; 
and  the  highest  price  w^as  $606.00. 

By  the  ist  of  January-,  1840,  lots  had  been  sold  to  the 
amount  of  $34,397- 7 5-  But  only  $14,648.53  of  this 
amount  had  been  paid  down;  for  there  remained  in  the 
office  of  the  acting  commissioner  notes  to  the  amount 
of  $19,749.22. 

From  the  autumn  of  1839,  dates  the  existence  of  Iowa 
City  as  a  distinct  social  entity.  Men  who  bought  lots 
at  the  public  sales  remained  to  fit  them  up  for  homes. 
A  considerable  number  of  dwellings  were  now  put  in 
process  of  erection.  Some  were  simply  log  cabins; 
others  were  frame  houses  sided  and  roofed  with  clap- 
boards hewed  from  the  trunks  of  native  trees.  Occa- 
sionally sawed  lumber  was  obtained  from  Felkner's  and 
Meyer's  mill  on  Rapid  Creek.  The  little  pine  lumber 
that  was  used  came  by  way  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
rivers  to  Bloomington  (now  Muscatine),  from  which 
place  it  was  hauled  overland  to  Iowa  City. 

1  On  neglect  or  refusal  to  pay  either  installment  the  lot  or  lots  became 
forfeited  to  the  Territory  and  the  purchaser  lost  all  that  he  had  paid. 

*  Certificates  of  purchase  were  given  to  purchasers  in  all  cases,  giving 
the  number  of  the  block,  the  number  of  the  lot,  and  pledging  the  faith 
of  the  Territory'  for  the  execution  of  a  deed  in  fee  simple,  so  soon  as  the 
title  shall  be  procured  by  the  Territory  from  the  General  Government. 


III. 

THE   BEGINNINGS    OF   MUNICIPAL   LIFE. 
Growth  axd  Development. 

The  years  1S40,  1S41  and  1842  stand  out  preeminently 
as  the  most  eventful  period  in  the  history  of  Iowa  City. 
It  was  the  spring-time,  when  the  municipal  germ  planted 
in  1839  shot  up,  as  it  were,  in  a  single  night,  unfolding 
and  developing  the  organs  of  social  and  municipal  life. 
It  was  the  period  of  youthful  vigor,  of  expansion — seem- 
ingly without  hmit.  Back  to  these  years  are  traced  the 
beginnings  of  industr}',  education,  courts,  politics,^and 
rehgion.  And  withal  this  was  the  period  of  enthusiasm, 
the  time  when  men  hoped  most  and  planned  most. 

Fortunately  the  winter  of  'thirty-nine  and  'forty  was  a 
mild  one,  without  storms.  Around  Capitol  Square  many 
buildings  stood  partially  or  wholly  uncovered;  others 
were  in  the  first  stages  of  erection.  Day  after  day  could 
be  heard  the  ring  of  the  ax  and  the  crashing  sound  of 
falUng  trees.  Men  warmed  themselves  about  brush-heap 
fires,  and  talked  and  rejoiced  over  the  prospects  of  the 
future. 

The  one  hundred  inhabitants  who  were  on  the  town 
site  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1S40,  witnessed,  as  the 
year  advanced,  their  number  double,  treble,  then  double 
again.  In  the  course  of  six  months  Iowa  City  had 
become  the  most  popular  point  in  Iowa.  The  name  of 
the   frontier   capital  was  carried   across   the   Mississippi 


38  lozva   City. 

into  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio  and  beyond  the  Alleghanies. 

The  growth  of  the  town  at  this  time  was  certainly  a 
marvel.  Its  rapid  increase  and  development  were  extra- 
ordinar}',  and  up  to  that  time  are  said  to  have  been 
unparalleled  in  all  the  west. 

John  B.  Newhall  in  his  "  Sketches  of  Iowa,"  published 
in  1S41,  says:^  "The  unprecedented  growth  of  Iowa 
City  from  a  wilderness  frontier,  beyond  the  pale  of  civili- 
zation, is  indeed  a  wonder  in  the  growth  of  towns.  *  * 
I  have  heard  of  cities  springing  into  existence  as  if  by 
magic,  but  in  no  case  have  I  ever  known  the  application 
to  be  so  just  as  when  applied  to  this  young  capital  of 
Iowa.  *  *  Up  to  the  present  time,  being  about  four- 
teen months  from  the  commencement  of  Iowa  City,  it 
contains  a  population  of  about  700  inhabitants,  a  spacious 
city  hotel,  three  or  four  brick  buildings  and  several 
others  in  progress,  ten  dry-goods,  grocery  and  provision 
stores,  one  drug  store,  one  saddlery,  two  blacksmiths, 
one  gunsmith,  three  or  four  coffee  houses,  four  lawyers, 
three  physicians,  one  church,  and  one  primary  school  — 
in  short,  presenting  all  the  appearance,  bustle  and  activity 
of  a  city  of  years,  rather  than  a  prodigy  of  months. 
Should  the  skeptical  feel  inclined  to  question  the  accur- 
acy of  this  statement,  I  can  assure  them  it  has  been  the 
result  of  personal  inspection.  I  counted,  even  in  the 
middle  of  last  May,  the  rising  of  one  hundred  buildings, 
and  saw  and  heard  the  busy  workmen  engaged  on  half 
as  many  more.  At  that  time,  conversing  with  a  gentle- 
man from  Pennsylvania,  who  came  to  the  'city'  the  week 
preceding  and  had  a  frame  house  covered  and  his  goods 
in  it,  he  said  to  me,  'Five  days  ago  my  house  was  in  the 
woods,  growing.' " 

'"  Sketches  of  Iowa,"  by  Jolin  B.  Ncwhiill,  of  Burlington,  page   125. 


The  Beginnings  of  ]\funicipal  Life.  39 

An  Old  Fashioned  Economy. 

It  has  become  a  familiar  remark  that  the  decades  since 
the  war  are  more  unlike  the  decades  preceding-  the  war 
than  those  years  are  unlike  the  time  of  Elizabeth  or  the 
First  George.  The  progress  of  the  domestic  freedom 
of  trade  since  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  not 
the  less  remarkable  because  it  has  been  unobserved. 
The  growth  of  faith  in  freedom,  nourished  by  the  mystic 
philosophy  that  spun  itself  about  the  theory  of  the  social 
compact,  and  the  introduction  of  rapid  steam  transporta- 
tion and  communication  by  telegraph,  broke  down  for- 
ever the  old  system  of  restrictions  that  once  hung  upon 
every  avenue  of  business  life.  Vestiges  of  the  old  system 
are  found  in  the  early  history  of  Iowa  City  in  the  licenses 
which  were  then  regarded  necessary  for  the  lawful  pur- 
suit of  ordinary  trades. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  Edward  Foster  was  granted  a 
license  to  sell  goods  in  Iowa  City  for  one  year  at  the 
rate  of  twenty  dollars  per  annum.  Mr.  Foster's  store 
was  kept  in  a  log  cabin  just  north  of  Capitol  Square. 
On  the  day  after  Mr.  Foster  w^as  granted  a  license  to 
sell  goods,  Asaph  Allen  and  Walter  Butler  obtained 
licenses  to  "keep  tavern "^  for  one  year  at  the  rate  of 

1  The  following  extract  froin  a  statute  law  of  Michigan  that  was 
extended  over  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  (Iowa  was  then  a  part  of  the 
Territory  of  Wisconsin)  by  the  act  of  Congress  organizing  said  Terri- 
tory, is  characteristic  of  the  regulations  at  that  time: 

"Every  tavern  keeper  shall,  at  all  times  be  furnished  with  suitable 
provisions  and  accommodations  for  travellers,  and  shall  keep  in  his 
house  at  least  two  spare  beds  for  guests,  with  good  and  sufficient  ?Tieet- 
ing  and  covering  for  such  beds  respectively,  and  provide  and  keep  good 
and  sufficient  stabling  and  provender  of  hay  in  winter,  and  hay  and 
pasturage  in  summer,  and  grain  for  four  horses  or  other  cattle,  for  the 
accommodation  of  travellers.  *  *  *  *  Every  tavern  keeper  shall, 
within  thirty  days  after  obtaining  his  license,  put  up  a  proper  sign,  on 


40  Io-u.>a   City. 

thirty  dollars.  Mr.  Allen  had,  for  at  least  three  months 
previous  to  this  time,  been  conducting  a  tavern;^  but  Mr. 
Butler  opened  his  tavern  about  the  time  the  license  was 
issued.  Butler's  tavern,  which  was  kept  in  a  frame 
building  erected  especiallv  for  the  purpose,  was  for 
several  years  the  principal  public  place  in  Iowa  City. 

Robert  McKee  &  Co.  took  out  a  license  to  keep  a 
store  for  one  year  at  the  rate  of  eighteen  dollars.  Their 
store  was  located  in  a  small  log  house  which  stood  near 
the  northwest  corner  of  Clinton  and  Burlinfjton  streets 
(near  where  the  Baptist  church  now  stands).  It  is  also 
recorded  that  about  the  middle  of  November  Charles 
Drury  took  out  a  license  to  keep  a  general  store  at  the 
same  rate. 

The  first  grocery  was  in  a  cabin  on  the  east  side  of 
Dubuque  street  between  College  and  Burlington  streets, 
and  was  known  as  the  "Buck  Grocery."  Above  the 
door  a  pair  of  deer  horns  naivelv  served  as  a  sign  —  the 
proprietor's  name  was  Henry  Buck,  That  Mr.  Buck's 
store  was  a  grocery  is  certain.  For,  according  to  the 
3rd  section  of  "Ax  Act  regulating  Grocery  License," 
passed  by  the  Legislative  Assemblv  of  the  Territory  of 
Iowa,-  "a  grocery  shall  be  deemed  to  include  any  house 
or  place  where  spirituous  or  vinous  liquors  are  retailed 
by  less  quantities  than  one  gallon,"  and  it  is  known  that 
spirituous  liquors  were  thus  sold  at  the  "Buck  Grocery." 

Mail  Facilities. 

The  mail  facilities,  which  up  to  this  time  had  been 
meager  and  uncertain,  were   now  made  more  adequate 

or  adjacent  to  the  front  of  his  house,  with  his  name  thereon,  and  keep 
lip  such  sign  during  the  time  he  shall  keep  a  tavern." 

'  See  Cliapter  II  on  the  "The  Founding  of  Iowa  City,"  page  32. 

*  Stat.  Laws  la.  Ter.,  Sess.  1S39-40  of  Leg.  Ass'v,  page  27. 


The  Beginnings  of  Municipal  Life.  41 

by  the  establishment  of  regular  mail  routes  to  the  more 
important  points  in  the  Territory.^  The  Napoleon  post- 
office,  which  had  been  established  in  March,  1839,  was 
removed  to  Iowa  City  by  Samuel  H.  McCrory  and 
located  in  the  store  of  Charles  S.  Foster,  just  north 
of  Capitol  Square,  sometime  during  the  same  year. 
Chauncey  Swan,  who  succeeded  Mr.  McCrory  as  post- 
master, on  the  14th  of  November,  1839,  changed  the 
name  of  the  post-otKce  from  "Napoleon"  to  "Iowa  City." 
Mr.  Swan  was  succeeded  in  office  by  James  M.  Hawkins, 
September  2nd,  1841.  On  the  3rd  of  August,  1842, 
Samuel  C.  Trowbridge  was  appointed  postmaster,  which 
position  he  held  for  seven  3-ears. 

Public  Roads. 

Along-  with  the  increase  in  mail  facilities  there  was  a 
development  of  public  means  of  travel.  While  the  first 
emigrants  of  'thirty-nine  were  compelled  to  follow  rivers, 
streams  and  Indian  paths,  those  who  came  later  in  the 
3'ear  were  guided  by  the  crooked  wheel-tracks  of  ox 
wagons.  In  1840  and  1841,  regular  public  roads  were 
laid  out. 

All  the  principal  highways  at  that  time  were  estab- 
lished by  acts  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  and  were 
known  as  "territorial  roads." ^  In  1841,  four  of  these 
principal  highways  connected  Iowa  City  with  the  outside 

t  F.  M.  Irish  relates  that  the  Iowa  City  mail  was  brought  up  from 
Bloomington  (Muscatine)  by  any  of  the  citizens  having  business  there; 
and  that  he  (Mr.  Irish)  had  often  brought  out  the  mail  in  the  crown  of 
his  hat  or  tied  up  in  a  pocket  handkerchief. — See  Annals  of  lovja,  April, 
1868;  page  109. 

2  The  "territorial  road,"  with  perhaps  the  exception  of  important 
bridges,  was  improved  at  the  expense  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  county 
or  township  through  which  it  passed. 


42  lozva   City. 

world,  namely:  One  running  from  Iowa  City  through 
Muscatine  County  to  Bloomington  (Muscatine);  one 
running  from  Iowa  City  through  Louisa  and  Des  Moines 
Counties  to  Burlington;  one  running  from  Iowa  Cit}^ 
through  Cedar,  Clinton,  Jackson  and  Dubuque  Counties 
to  Dubuque;  and  one  running  from  Iowa  City  south  to 
Mt.  Pleasant  in  Henry  County.  Indeed,  Iowa  .City  was 
at  that  time  the  converging  point  of  all  the  important 
territorial  roads. 

One  of  the  most  popular  roads  in  the  Territor}^  was  a 
"military  road"  established  by  Congress  between  Iowa 
City  and  Dubuque.  Twenty  thousand  dollars  was  appro- 
priated by  Congress  for  the  improvement  of  this  road.  ^ 

But  previous  to  the  establishment  of  either  territorial 
or  military  roads  there  existed  between  Iowa  City  and 
Dubuque  a  public  highway  that  was  characteristically 
pioneer.  Strangers  in  crossing  the  prairie  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  keep  the  direct  course  and  often  wandered  far 
out  of  their  way.  This  was  especially  true  of  travelers 
between  Iowa  City  and  Dubuque.  The  citizens  of  Iowa 
City  desiring  to  remedy  this  difficulty  employed  one, 
Lyman  Dillon,  to  plow  a  furrow  between  the  two  towns 
in  as  direct  a  line  as  practicable.  Early  one  morning 
Mr.  Dillon,  accompanied  bv  a  driver,  started  from  Iowa 
City  with  a  large  breaking  plow  drawn  by  five  yoke  of 
oxen.  When  he  reached  Dubuque  he  had  made  a  fur- 
row one  hundred  miles  long.  "Dillon's  furrow"  was  an 
efficient  guide  to  the  traveler,  and  soon  a  well  beaten 
road  was  made  by  its  side. 

Ferries. 
The  settlers  west  of  the  Iowa  River  reached  the  town 

'  The  Langworthy  Bros.,  of  Uiibuque,  had  the  contract  to  lay  out  tlie 
greater  part  of  thib  military  road. 


The  Bcginninos  of  Municipal  Life.  43 

by  crossing  the  river  in  canoes  and  on  what  may  be 
termed  "flatboat  ferries."  Benjamin  Miller  started  the 
first  regular  fen-y  across  the  Iowa  River  in  the  winter 
of  1838-39.  This  ferry  which  crossed  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  present  location  of  the  B.,  (J.  R.  &:  N.  R.  R. 
bridge  was  subsequently  managed  by  F.  x\.  A.  Cobbs. 
On  the  6th  of  March,  1840,  Messrs.  Sturgis  and 
Douglass  were  granted  a  license  to  keep  a  ferry  across 
the  Iowa  River;  and  on  the  same  day  Andrew  D. 
Stephen  was  granted  a  license  to  keep  a  ferry  at  the 
point  where  the  "National  Road"^  crossed  the  river. 
But  Mr.  Stephen  having  neglected  to  establish  a  ferry 
m  due  time,  his  license  was  revoked  on  the  13th  of 
October,  1840,  and  a  new  license  granted  to  John  D. 
Able. 2  Mr.  Able  established  his  ferrj'  where  the  upper 
wagon  bridge  now  crosses  the  river;  and  this  was  the 
first  regular  ferry  to  cross  the  Iowa  River  at  Iowa  City.^ 
On  the  nth  of  September,  1841,  Mr.  Able  transferred, 
along  with  a  claim  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  the 
"ferry,  Boat.  Rope  Canoe,  &  so  forth  belonging  to  and 
heretofore  used  at  said  ferry  "^  to  Pleasant  Arthur. 
About  a  month  after  the  transfer  Mr.  Arthur  had  the 
license  renewed.-^ 

1  According  to  a  map  of  Iowa  City  published  in  1839,  the  "  National 
Road"  crossed  the  Iowa  River  on  a  line  with  Iowa  Avenue. 

2  The  license  fee  in  both  cases  was  $15.00. 

'  The  toll  rates  established  by  the  county  were  as  follows: 

Footman 6^  cts.  =  "  fip"  =  "  fippenny-bit"  =  "  picayune." 

Man  and  horse    .     .     .     12^     "  ="  bit"  =  "  levy  "  =  "'levenpence." 

One  horse  and  wagon  (or  carriage) 25    cts. 

Two  horses,  or  oxen,  and  wagon 37/^  " 

Each  additional  horse  or  yoke  of  oxen 6^  " 

Each  head  of  neat  cattle  in  droves (>%.  " 

Sheep  and  hogs  per  head 3     'i 

*  From  original   MS.  records  of  the   Claim   Association  of  Johnson 
County. 

5  Mr.  Arthur's  license  fee  was  $25.00. 


^.jj.  ■  Tozua   City. 

Commerce. 

In  the  early  years  of  Iowa  City,  water  courses  were 
still  the  great  channels  of  tratfic.  But,  as  has  already 
been  observed,  the  location  of  Iowa  City  commanded 
no  commercial  point  of  advantage.  The  traffic  of  Iowa 
Citv,  therefore,  was  mostly  overland;  and  before  rail- 
roads had  become  the  common  carrier,  this  was  slow 
and  expensive  transportation.  Articles  of  produce  and 
merchandise  were  hauled  overland  in  ox-wagons  to  and 
from  the  Mississippi  river. 

Drv-goods  and  the  like  were  purchased  in  New  York, 
Boston  and  other  eastern  cities  and  shipped  by  way  of 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  or  by  way  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  and  the  Mississippi,  to  Bloomington  (Musca- 
tine), BurHngton  and  Dubuque.  Groceries  were  pur- 
chased almost  exclusively  in  St.  Louis;  for  at  that  time 
St.  Louis  was  to  the  West  what  Chicago  is  to  the  North- 
west to-day. 

Produce,  which  consisted  mostly  of  corn,  wheat,  pork 
and  lard,  was  sent  in  part  to  the  Mississippi  towns  for 
exportation.  But  in  the  transportation  of  produce  the 
Iowa  River  —  a  considerable  body  of  water,  especially 
in  the  spring  months — was  utilized  to  a  great  extent. 
Loaded  on  flatboats  or  keel -boats,  corn,  wheat  and 
pork  were  floated  down  the  Iowa  River  to  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  thence  on  the  same  boats  to  St.  Louis,  where 
both  the  produce  and  the  boats  were  disposed  of. 

Moreover,  the  inliabitants  of  Iowa  City  believed  that 
the  Iowa  River  could  be  made  a  navigable  water  course 
and  that  Mississippi  steamers  would  some  day  carry  on 
a  direct  commerce  with  the  town.  This  belief  was 
greatly  strengthened  by  an  e\ent  which  occurred  on  the 
20th  of  June,  1840. 


The  Beginnings  of  Municipal  Life.  45 

On  the  evening  of  that  day,  which  was  Sunday,  the 
inhabitants  were  startled  by  the  puffing  of  a  steamboat. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  entire  population  of  the  town 
turned  out  and  rushed  down  to  the  ferry  landing  to  wel- 
come with  hearty  cheers  the  arrival  of  what  proved  to 
be  the  steamboat  "Ripple."  The  next  morning  the 
citizens  held  a  mass  meeting  at  the  city  hotel.  At  this 
meeting  resolutions  were  passed  providing  for  a  grand 
public  dinner  to  be  held  in  commemoration  of  the  event 
and  appointing  committees  to  investigate  the  matter  of 
improving  the  Iowa  River  and  making  it  navigable. 

The  editor  of  the  lozva  City  Standard  declared  that 
"The  comparatively  low^  stage  of  water  will  effectually 
silence  any  sneers  that  may  be  thrown  out  concerning 
high  water  navigation,  etc.,  and  we  now  have  the  fact 
proved,  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt,  that  the  Iowa 
River  is  navigable  beyond  this  place  for  seven  months 
in  the  year.  This  arrival  has  effectually  changed  the 
relation  in  which  we  formerly  stood  to  the  other  towns 
in  this  Territory.  We  are  now  no  longer  dependent 
upon  the  towns  on  the  Mississippi  for  our  imports  ^ — nor 
are  we  subjected  to  the  labor  and  expense  of  drawing 
across  the  country  all  articles  brought  from  abroad.  We 
have  now^  a  situation  in  many  respects  superior  to  any  in 
the  Territory."^ 

In  a  speech  at  the  public  dinner  Major  John  B.  New- 
hall  said:  "From  this  day  forward  the  practicability  of 
navigating  the  Iowa  River  remains  no  longer  the  sub- 
ject of  conjecture.  From  this  day  henceforth,  a  new  era 
will  commence  in  the  destinies  of  your  city.  The  most 
skeptical  must  believe;  for  here  is  the  evidence  before 
you — yes,  gentlemen,  ere  another   month    shall   elapse 

1  /oti'rt  City  Standard,  Vol.  I,  No.  31. 


46  lozva   City. 

the  performance  of  the  gallant  little  "Ripple"  shall  be 
emblazoned  to  the  world  in  letters  of  living  lifjht."^ 

But  all  this  was  gross  exaggeration,  and  the  hope  in 
the  navigability  of  the  Iowa  River  never  was  realized. ^ 
In  1847  and  1848,  the  General  Assembly  considered  the 
question  of  slack-water  navigation  on  the  Iowa  River 
and  addressed  a  memorial  to  Congress  on  the  subject; 
but  before  any  effectual  movement  could  be  inaugurated 
railroads  had  robbed  the  water  of  its  former  superiority 
as  a  means  of  internal  commerce. 

Mining. 

A  discovery  of  what  was  supposed  to  be  lead  ore  in 
the  month  of  April,  1842,  created  considerable  excite- 
ment in  Iowa  City  at  the  time.  The  discovery  was 
made  by  Jesse  McCart,  who  it  is  said,  "  found,  nine  miles 
above  the  city,  on  the  banks  of  the  Iowa  River,  a  load 
of  lead  by  digging  fourteen  feet  below  the  surface." 

Of  this  discovery  the  editor  of  the  Iowa  City  Standard 
says:  "Nothing  better  could  have  happened  to  make  this 
section  of  the  countr}-  and  especially  Iowa  City,  a  perfect 
Eldorado,  than  the  discover}-  which  has  been  made  in 
Johnson  County.  It  has,  ever  since  the  settlement  of  this 
county,  been  believed,  that  it  abounded  with  immense 
mineral  of  various  kinds.  Several  townships  of  'land 
west  of  Iowa  City,  we  are  told,  were  returned  to  the 
General  Land  Ofhce  as  mineral  lands.  This  must  form 
a  new  era  in  the  historv  and  existence  of  Iowa  City."^ 

'  loiva  City  Standard,  \'ol.  I,  No.  31. 

^  \w  1842  the  steamer  "Rock  River"  arrived  at  Iowa  City;  and  in 
1844  the  steamer  "  Emma"  got  as  far  as  tiie  capital.  But  tliese  arrivals 
were  of  little  consequence. 

'  lov.a  City  Statidard,  Vol.  II,  No.  19. 


The  Beginnings  of  Municipal  Life.  47 

Mining,  however,  as  in  the  case  of  the  first  steamboat 
arrival,  was  simply  an  exciting  incident  instead  of  an 
epoch-making  event. 

The  Common  Industries. 

The  ordinary  trades,  such  as  those  of  the  carpenter, 
the  smith  and  the  mason,  were  introduced  and  flourished 
during  the  first  year  of  the  town's  existence.  At  one 
time  there  was  a  turning-lathe  on  Ralston  Creek.  For 
a  number  of  years  Mr.  Gaymon  managed  a  chair  factory. 
John  A.  Copenhafer  also  established  a  chair  factory. 
This  latter  factory  was  located  on  Ralston  Creek,  oppo- 
site the  present  site  of  the  oil  mill.  Here  marble-headed 
canes  were  manufactured,  the  marble  used  being  none 
other  than  the  bird's-eye  marble  from  the  Iowa  City 
quarries. 

The  making  of  brick  was  also  begun  at  an  earl}'  day. 
In  this  occupation  Sylvanus  Johnson  was  the  pioneer. 
He  operated  a  brick-yard  in  the  year  1840,  and  on  the 
15th  day  of  April  of  that  year  moulded  with  his  own 
hands  the  first  brick  ever  made  in  Johnson  County. 
From  his  kiln  Mr.  Bostwick  obtained  the  material  for 
the  first  brick  building  erected  in  Iowa  City.  The  walls 
of  this  building  were  laid  in  1840  by  George  T.  Andrews. 

The  transportation  of  produce  down  the  Iowa  River 
on  flatboats  created  a  lively  business  in  building  of  boats. 

The  Iowa  City  Manufacturing  Company. 

The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  Iowa  City  was 
political,  and  not  industrial.  The  industrial  organiza- 
tions of  the  town  were,  therefore,  ordinary  and  com- 
monplace. Yet  to  this  general  rule  there  was  one 
noteworthy  exception  —  the  "Iowa  City  Manufacturing 
Company." 


48  Iowa   City. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  the  13th  day  of  April,  1843, 
that  a  few  citizens  assembled  at  the  office  of  the  terri- 
torial agent,  John  M.  Coleman,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
steps  in  reference  to  a  burying  ground  that  had  been 
donated  by  the  Territor\\  The  business  for  which  they 
were  called  together  was  duly  arranged,  and  the  meeting 
adjourned.  But  immediateh^  after  the  adjournment  was 
announced,  Mr.  Coleman  arose  and  requested  the  citizens 
to  remain,  saying  that  he  desired  to  make  a  suggestion. 
The  citizens  again  took  their  seats.  Mr.  Coleman  then 
brought  forward  his  suggestion,  which  was  to  the 
effect  that  the  citizens  of  Iowa  City  make  an  effort 
to  utilize  the  watc?'  power  of  the  Iowa  River.  The  sug- 
gestion was  favorably  entertained  by  those  present,  and 
it  was  resolved  to  hold  a  meeting  at  the  "  American 
Hotel "  for  a  more  thorough  consideration  of  the  matter, 
within  a  few  days.  Mr.  Coleman's  proposition  now  met 
with  enthusiastic  support  on  every  hand.  The  result 
was  that  on  the  17th  the  "Iowa  City  Manufacturing 
Company "  was  organized  and  articles  of  association 
adopted.  1 

Chauncey  Swan  was  elected  President  of  the  com- 
pany. Other  men  who  prominently  interested  them- 
selves in  this  new  enterprise  were:  A.  E.  McArthur, 
Silas  Foster,  M.  M.  Montgomery,  Thomas  Sni'der  and 
David  Switzer. 

The  manai^ement  havmg  been  vested  in  a  board  of 
directors,  it  was  resolved  to  commence  operations  just 
as  soon  as  capital  stock  to  the  amount  of  $5,000  had 
been  taken.  This  amount  was  soon  subscribed,  and  the 
erection  of  a  dam  was  begun  on  the  iSth  of  June,  under 
the    direction    of    A.    B.    Newcomb.      By   the   middle   of 

'  lo-Md  Capital  Rrforlcr,  Vol.  II,  No.  20. 


The  Beginnings  of  Municipal  Life.  49 

August  the  capital  stock  had  swelled  to  $10,000,  and  at 
the  dam  thirty  hands  were  employed  in  hewing  and 
digging.^  During  the  fall  months  the  work  was  pushed 
forward  with  wonderful  vigor.  At  the  same  time  a  grist- 
mill was  in  the  process  of  erection.  By  the  ist  day  of 
January,  1S44,  the  dam  and  mill  were  so  far  completed 
that  the  officers  and  workmen,  who  surrounded  the  table 
at  a  rudimentary  boarding  house  near  b}-,  were  served 
with  "corn  dodgers"  and  mush  made  of  meal  ground 
that  day  by  the  water  power  of  the  Iowa  River. 

The  location  of  the  mill  and  dam  was  about  two  miles 
northwest  of  Iowa  City  at  a  point  now  known  as  Coral- 
ville.  This  site  was  donated  to  the  company  by  Walter 
Butler,  with,  however,  the  reservation  by  him  of  the  right 
of  erectincT  a  mill  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  and  of 
using  water  from  the  company's  mill  sufficient  to  run  a 
saw  mill  with  one  saw.  The  Iowa  River  throughout  its 
entire  course  afforded  no  better  site;  here  the  bed  of 
the  river  was  of  solid  rock  with  a  beautiful  fall  below. 

The  dam  when  completed  was  perhaps  the  finest 
structure  of  its  kind  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  It 
was  ten  feet  high,  and  with  an  ordinary  stage  of  water 
contributed  hydraulic  force  equal  to  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  horse  power. 

Yet  after  all,  it  was  not  the  erection  of  a  great  dam 
and  the  building  of  a  gristmill,  that  gives  the  Iowa  City 
Manufacturing  Compan}^  a  truly  great  significance  in  the 
history  of  Iowa  Cit}-.  This  significance  is  found  in  the 
company's  industrial  system.  As  the  Claim  Association 
of  Johnson  Count}-  was  operated  on  modern  socialistic 
principles,  so  the  Iowa  City  Manufacturing  Company 
founded  an  industry  on  the  principles  of  the  modern 
cooperative  labor  system.       Many  of    the    stockholders 

1  loTxa  City  Standard,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  32. 


50  lozva   City. 

instead  of  paying  for  their  shares  in  money — which  to  be 
sure  they  did  not  have  —  paid  for  them  in  the  labor  of 
their  own  hands;  while  some  few,  merchants,  paid  for 
their  shares  in  goods  and  provisions.  A  rare  spectacle  it 
must  have  been  to  see  the  stockholders  with  their  own 
picks,  spades  and  axes,  digging,  shoveling  and  hewing, 
and  wading  deep  in  the  Iowa  River;  while  merchants, 
who  had  taken  shares,  contributed  groceries  and  provis- 
ions for  their  support.  So  thoroughly  was  the  system 
carried  out  that  upon  the  completion  of  the  dam,  it  is 
said,  the  books  of  the  company  showed  a  total  expense 
of  but  tzvcnty-jivc  dollars  in  money.  ^ 

On  the  5th  of  November,  1845,  the  mill  and  dam 
passed  from  the  control  of  the  Iowa  City  Manufacturing 
Companv  into  the  hands  of  Newcomb  »&  Harris.  But 
the  immense  power  afforded  by  the  dam  was  never 
efficiently  utilized  until  after  184S,  when  the  improve- 
ments were  purchased  by  Ezekiel  Clark.  By  the  year 
1850,  Mr.  Clark  had  put  in  a  large  and  well  equipped 
plant.  The  flouring  mill  was  then  "dri^•en  day  and  night, 
and  furnished  the  greater  portion  of  the  flour  for  the 
inhabitants  of  the  northwestern  part  of  our  State.  It  was 
no  unusual  sight  to  see  tifty  and  sixty  wagons  ranged  at 
this  mill  at  one  time,  some  of  them  from  as  far  north  as 
Woodbury  County,  and  from  all  the  intermediate  settle- 
ments and  from  southern  Minnesota."- 

Note. — Besides  the  mills  at  Coralville,  there  is  anotlier  historic  Iowa 
City  mill.  It  is  located  about  a  half  inile  north  of  town,  and  is  known 
as  "Terrill's  Mill."  The  dam  for  this  mill  was  erected  in  the  autumn 
of  'forty-three  by  Walter  Terrill;  the  mill  itself  was  built  during  the 
following  year. 

'  Annah  of  lozva,  April,  1869,  page  193. 

'^  In  1855  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  bought  an  interest  in  these  mills. 
And  it  was  from  this  industry  that  he  was  afterwards  called  to  become 
Iowa's  greatest  Governor  and  most  honored  citizen. 


The  Beginnings  of  Municipal  Life.  5  '^ 

Local  Politics. 

In  early  times  Iowa  City  was  an  enthusiastic  Whig 
town.  Every  one  was  interested  in  politics,  for  the 
"machine"  and  "ring"  were  then  unknown.  Men, 
however,  did  not  seem  to  be  so  broad  in  their  political 
views  as  they  were  later  on.  This  narrowness  was 
strikingly  reflected  in  the  editorials  of  the  press,  which 
were  often  insultinrj  and  scurrilous. 

Being  a  Whig  town  the  victory  of  William  Henry  Har- 
rison was  commemorated  by  an  "Illumination."  "The 
hearts  of  the  people,"  it  is  said,  "\'<'ere  given  over  to 
utter  joyousness.  Almost  every  habitation  was  resplend- 
ent with  light.  The  square,  the  park,  the  avenue,  indeed 
the  whole  city  was  one  grand  mass  of  embodied  light 
from  nine  o'clock  until  about  midnight.  Men  became 
boys  and  played  their  antics  over  again.  Every  move- 
able thine:  became  a  sleif^h  and  everv  locomotive  was 
put  in  requisition  to  give  them  impetus.  The  United 
States  flag  with  her  stars  and  stripes  added  beauty  to 
the  scene."  ^ 

Iowa  City  remained  a  stronghold  of  the  Whigs  until 
1845,  when  in  August  the  Democrats  carried  an  election 
by  a  small  majority. 

The  County  Seat. 

The  importance  of  the  average  American  town  is 
generally  determined  by  its  official  relation  to  the  state 
and  county  in  which  it  is  located.  In  these  relations, 
Iowa  City  w^as  doubly  favored.  As  capital  it  w^as  the 
first  town  in  Iowa;  and  as  seat  of  justice  it  became  the 
center  of  Johnson  County. 

1  lozva  Standard,  Vol.  I,  No.  lO. 


52  loiva   City. 

Created  by  an  act  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of 
Wisconsin,  passed  at  the  winter  session  of  1837-38,  held 
at  Burlington,  Johnson  County  was  temporarily  attached 
to  Cedar  County.  But  the  few  inhabitants  soon  peti- 
tioned for  a  separate  organization.  There  being  at  that 
time  two  rival  communities  in  the  county,  the  "Harris 
Community  "  and  the  "  Gilbert  Community,"  the  former 
desired  the  location  of  the  seat  of  justice  to  be  made  at 
the  -proposed  town  Osceola,  while  the  latter  maintained 
the  superior  importance  of  the  proposed  town  Napoleon. 
The  question  was  finally  settled  b\' an  act  of  the  Wis- 
consin Assembly,  approved  June  22nd,  1S38.  This  act 
provided  for  the  separate  organization  of  the  County 
of  Johnson  with  the  seat  of  justice  at  Napoleon.  Situ- 
ated on  the  left  bank  of  the  Iowa  River  about  one  and 
a  half  miles  below  Iowa  City,  the  town  of  Napoleon 
never  consisted  of  more  than  two  houses.  Yet  in  that 
place  Johnson  Countv  had  its  official  beginnings.  There 
the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  sat  to  hear  a  case 
of  frontier  horse-stealinif- 

On  the  7th  of  October  the  court  of  county  commis- 
sioners assembled  at  Napoleon  for  the  last  time;  for  that 
day  the  court  "  adjourned  to  meet  to-morrow  morning 
at  eight  o'clock  at  the  house  of  F.  M.  Irish  in  Iowa 
City."  Pursuant  to  adjournment,  the  court  met  with 
Henry  Felkner,  Robert  Walker  and  Philip  Clark  pres- 
ent. From  this  time  on  it  is  very  probable  that  Iowa 
City  was  in  reality  the  ofHcial  town  of  the  countv:  for, 
having  been  created  the  capital  of  Iowa  Territory  in  the 
preceding  month  of  May,  it  was  now  the  universal 
opinion  that  the  county  seat  should  be  near  the  seat  of 
government.     In  December,  1839,  ^^^*^  re-location  of  the 


The  Beginnings  of  Mtmicipal  Life.  53 

seat  of  justice  of  Johnson  County  was  authorized  by  the 
Legislative  Assembly.^ 

Having  met  on  the  27th  day  of  January,  the  commis- 
sioners, upon  the  motion  of  Henry  Felkner,  repaired 
to  view  the  several  quarter-sections  of  land  adjoining 
the  seat  of  government.  After  due  examination  they 
decided  upon  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  fifteen 
for  the  future  seat  of  justice.  Philip  Clark  was  then 
authorized  by  the  commissioners  to  repair  to  Dubuque 
and  enter  the  quarter-section  for  county  purposes.  Fur- 
thermore, it  was  "Ordered  that  a  memorial  be  forwarded 
to  Congress,  directed  to  the  care  of  W.  \V.  Chapman, 
requesting  Congress  to  pass  a  law  authorizing  the  afore- 
said board  to  locate  upon  the  aforesaid  quarter-section 
of  land  for  county  purposes."  In  compliance  with  this 
request.  Congress  in  an  act  approved  August  ist,  1842, 
granted  the  right  of  preemption  at  the  minimum  price 
for  the  fractional  northwest  quarter,  east  of  the  river,  of 
section  fifteen,  containing  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
acres  and  sixty-four  one  hundredths  of  an  acre,  more  or 
less,  on  the  terms  and  conditions  of  an  act  passed  May 
26th,  1824,  relating  to  county  seats.  In  the  meantime 
the  commissioners  had  made  satisfactory  arrangements 
with  Andrew  D.  Stephen  the  claimant  of  the  land.  (See 
Chapter  I  on  "Early  Land  Claims.") 

On  the  9th  of  November,  1841,  the  board  ordered  the 
new  county  seat  to  be  laid  out  as  follows:  "Twenty-four 
blocks  to  be  surveyed  off  the  north  side  at  present,  each 
block  to  be  three  hundred  and  twenty  feet  square,  includ- 
ing alleys,  the  north  and  south  streets  to  correspond  with 
the  streets  which  run  north  and  south  in  Iowa  City;  and 
the  streets  runninir  east  and  west  to  be  eight v  feet  wide, 

^  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Sess.  1S39-40  of  Leg.  AssV,  page  25. 


54  Iowa   City. 

each  block  to  be  divided  into  eight  lots,  and  alleys  to  be 
twenty  feet  wide."  The  first  sale  of  lots  was  held  on 
the  24th  and  25th  of  May,  1841;  lots  were  sold  to  the 
amount  of  $2,903.50.  With  this  considerable  sum  it  was 
resolved  to  begin  the  erection  of  necessary  county  build- 
ings—  jail  and  courthouse. 

Experience  led  the  county  to  erect  the  jail  first.  Jesse 
Berry  and  James  Herron  drafted  the  plans,  according  to 
which  a  small  brick  building  was  erected  by  James 
Trimble  on  the  corner  of  Clinton  and  Prentiss  streets. 
But  this  building,  though  better  than  an  ordinary  frame 
house,  was  not  always  efficient  for  jail  purposes;  in 
August,  1843,  two  prisoners  broke  through  its  walls 
and  escaped.  Again  in  1852  another  criminal  broke  jail 
and  fled.  In  1864,  the  "old  jail"  was  sold  to  C.  H. 
Berryhill  for  the  sum  of  sixty  dollars. 

On  the  8th  of  April,  1S42,  F.  H.  Lee,  the  agent  for 
the  County  of  Johnson,  was  instructed  and  authorized  to 
receive  proposals  for  the  erection  of  a  temporary  court- 
house. The  building  was  to  be  twenty-eight  by  fifty- 
six  feet,  two  stories  high,  and  constructed  of  brick.  And 
during  the  next  few  years  such  a  courthouse  was  erected 
on  block  8,  lot  8,  in  the  county  seat.  Previous  to  the 
completion  of  these  two  county  buildings  the  county  had 
rented  different  rooms  and  buildinj^fs  in  Iowa  Citv  for 
court  and  jail  purposes. 

Early  Justice. 

The  first  District  Court  in  Iowa  City  (the  second  one 
in  the  county)  met  on  the  9th,  loth  and  nth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1839.  The  cases  brought  before  the  court  at 
this  session  were  for  the  most  part  cases  relating  to  the 
the   violation  of  the  law   regulating  the  sale  of  liquors  to 


The  Beginnings  of  Municipal  Life.  55 

Indians,  i      At  this  session  the  following  men  were  im- 
panelled and  sworn  in  as  grand  jurors: 

Andrew  D.  Stephen.  Alonzo  C.  Dennison. 

I.  P.  Hamilton,  Isaac  Bowen. 

Wm.  Sturgis.  Henry  Felkner. 

John    Hawkins.  S.  B.  Mulholland. 

Fred.  Dysinger.  Wm.  Kelso. 

Abner  Wolcott.  Jesse  McCart. 

Ebenezer  Douglass.  Wm.  M.  Harris. 

Robert  Walker.  Sam'l  H.  McCrory. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  in  frontier  set- 
tlements law  and  justice  were  not  administered  by  the 
courts  alone.  Criminals  were  not  unfrequently  punished 
other  than  by  "due  process  of  law."  Cases  involving 
real  estate  difficulties  were  generally  settled  by  the 
"claim  court."  (See  chapter  I  on  "Early  Land  Claims.") 
While  other  offenses  against  the  community  or  individ- 
uals of  the  community  were  often  dealt  with  by  the 
"vigilance  committee"  or  the  "mob." 

And  in  the  frontier  settlements  of  the  West  the  people 
were  justified  in  taking  the  law  into  their  own  hands; 
for  in  the  absence  of  courts  and  local  government  the 
vigilance  committee  was  often  absolutely  necessary  to 
the  proper  administration  of  justice. 

To  this  pioneer  method  of  administering  justice,  Iowa 
City  was  no  exception.  In  one  instance  a  prisoner  was 
taken  from  the  officers  and  whipped  and  choked  till  he 
confessed  his  crime;  in  another,  the  obnoxious  citizen 
was  drowned  in  the  Iowa  River. ^     In  July,   1844,  the 

1  For  the  law  regulating  the  sale  of  liquors  to  the  Indians  see  Stat. 
Laws,  La.  Ter.,  ist  Sess.  of  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  274. 

*  I  refer  to  the  drowning  of  Boyd  Wilkinson  in  the  Iowa  River 
in  185S. 


56 


lozva   City. 


"vigilance  committee"  as  chosen  in  Iowa  City  consisted 
of  the  following  persons  r^ 


Wm,  B.  Snyder. 
H.  Downer. 
E.  T.  Lock. 
A.  J.  Lucas. 
Ed.  Eatman. 
Chas.  Cartwright. 
Thos.  Cahill. 
John  Parrott. 
I.  N.  Sanders. 
Jas.  Robinson. 


Wm.  McCormick. 
G.  T.  Andrews. 
S.  Williams. 
L.  D.  Gobin. 
N.  A.  White. 
G.  W.  Hawkins. 
D.  Calhoun. 
John  Matthews. 
A.  Jones. 
Wm.  Sheladay. 


^  See  lozva  Standard,  Vol.  IV,  No.  29. 


IV. 
THE   TERRITORIAL    CAPITAL. 

Coming  of  the  Assembly. 

Iowa  City  did  not  become  the  capital  of  Iowa  /;/  fact 
until  the  6th  day  of  December,  1S41.  In  the  meantime 
Burlington  remained  the  temporary  seat  of  government. 
It  was  explicitly  stated  in  the  founding  act  of  Iowa  City,  ^ 
that  the  Legislative  Assembly  should  meet  at  Burlington 
for  three  }'ears,  until  by  proclamation  of  the  Governor 
the  Public  Buildings  at  Iowa  City  were  declared  ready 
for  its  reception.  But  at  the  end  of  two  years  it  had 
already  become  quite  evident  that  the  Capitol  would  not 
be  in  condition  to  receive  the  Legislative  Assembly  at 
the  time  contemplated  in  the  above  mentioned  act.  In 
view  of  this  fact,  an  act  passed  in  January,  1841,  fixing 
the  time  for  the  meetincr  of  the  next  Leijislative  Assem- 
bly  as  the  first  Monday  in  December,  1841,  contained 
the  special  provision  that  if  the  Public  Buildings  at  Iowa 
City  were  not  in  condition  to  receive  the  Legislative 
Assembly  at  that  time  the  Assembly  zvould  still  meet  in 
Iowa  Cifv  in  case  other  and  sufficient  buildings  shall  be 
/u7-nished,  rent  free.  The  citizens  of  Iowa  City  were 
not  slow  in  informing  the  Assembly  that  "other  and 
sufficient  buildings"  would  be  provided  for  their  accom- 
modation. 

The   whole   town    was    now    tilled    with    enthusiasm. 

1  See  Chapter  III  on  "The  Founding  of  Iowa  City,"  page  iS. 


58  Jozva  City. 

That  one  thing  for  which  many  of  the  inhabitants  had 
crossed  the  prairie  and  endured  the  privations  of  pioneer 
life  was  about  to  be  located  in  their  midst.  During  the 
summer,  Walter  Butler — the  most  public-spirited  of  all 
his  townsmen — erected  a  building  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  coming  Legislative  Assembly.  ^ 

Butler's  Capitol  was  a  two-story  frame  structure,  and 
was  located  on  Washington  street  in  block  80,  just  east 
of  what  is  now  Whetstone's  drug  store.  Its  dimensions 
were  sixt}^  by  thirty  feet. 

And  in  this  plain  unattractive  building  the  Legislative 
Assembly  of  Iowa  first  met  in  low^a  City  on  the  6th  day 
of  December,  1841.  It  w^as  a  cold  day,  made  disagree- 
able by  wand  and  rain  and  sleet.  The  Council,  with  nine 
members  present,  met  in  the  second  story  and  was  called 
to  order  by  the  secretary,  B.  F.  Wallace.  Promptly  at 
twelve  o'clock  M.,  Joseph  T.  Fales  called  the  House  to 
order  in  the  rooms  below.  At  this  tirst  meeting  of  the 
Representatives  at  Iowa  City  seventeen  counties  were 
represented,  namely:  Lee,  Van  Buren,  Des  JMoines, 
Henry,  Louisa,  Washington,  Muscatine,  Johnson,  Cedar, 
Jones,  Linn,  Scott,  Clinton,  Dubuque,  Clayton,  Delaware 
and  Jackson.  The  session  was  opened  with  prayer  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Hummer.  Only  one  session  of  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  was  held  in  Butler's  Capitol;  for  b}' 
December,  1S42,  the  Capitol  on  Capitol  Square  was  so 
far  completed  as  to  accommodate  the  Legislative  Assem- 
bly as  well  as  the  territorial  officers. 

'  "  Walter  Butler  agreed  to  put  up  a  building  if  a  certain  number  of 
citizens  would  obligate  themselves  to  pay  him  the  difference  between 
the  cost  of  the  building  and  the  price  it  would  command  when  no  longer 
required  for  use  by  tlie  Legislative  Assembly.  But  for  some  cause  the 
pledges  were  never  fulfilled,  and  Walter  Butler  sustained  a  great  loss 
thereby." — F.  M.  Irish  in  Annah  of  Io-\a^]\\\y^  1S6S,  page  19J. 


The    Territorial  Capital.  59 

Erection  of  the  Capitol. 

The  historical  importance  of  the  first  regular  Capitol 
of  Iowa  justifies  a  detailed  description  of  its  erection. 
For  to-day  it  is  the  most  significant  monument  of  the 
early  history  of  Iowa.  The  story  of  its  erection,  its 
financial  history,  the  legislative,  judicial  and  educational 
memories  that  cluster  around  its  walls,  lend  it  a  rever- 
ential distinction  unparalleled  by  any  other  public  build- 
ing ever  erected  in  the  State.  Begun  in  1839,  the 
building  of  the  Capitol  extends  over  the  long  period  of 
fifteen  years. 

Immediately  after  his  return  from  Dubuque  in  the 
latter  part  of  June,  1839,  Chauncey  Swan,  the  Acting 
Commissioner,  having  procured  tools  and  assistance, 
began  opening  up  a  quarry  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Iowa  River  about  six  blocks  north  of  Capitol  Square. 
From  this  quarry  rock  was  afterwards  obtained  for  the 
foundations  and  a  portion  of  the  walls  of  the  Capitol. 
Early  in  July  a  site  was  cleared,  and  in  September  men 
were  employed  to  prepare  the  ground  for  the  founda- 
tions. The  turf  and  dirt  removed  at  this  time  were 
deposited  in  Iowa  Avenue  on  the  east  side  of  Capitol 
Square. 

In  the  meantime  the  commissioners  had  adopted  plans 
for  the  Capitol.  John  F.  Rague  was  the  architect; 
although  it  is  said  that  the  Rev.  Samuel  Mazzuchielli,  a 
Catholic  priest  at  Dubuque,  was  the  original  designer 
of  the  building.  1 

The  following  is  a  fair  description  of  the  Capitol 
as  originally  planned  by  the  architect  and  afterwards 
erected  by  the  Territory:  Being  located  in  the  center 
of  Capitol  Square,  "it  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 

^lo-uui  Historical  Record,  Vol.  IV,  page  102. 


6o  Jozua   City. 

long  north  and  south,  and  sixty  feet  east  and  west.  It 
is  to  be  ornamented  bv  magnificent  porticos,  one  on  . 
each  side,  supported  by  four  massive  pillars  six  feet  and 
ten  inches  in  advance  of  the  walls  of  the  building.  The 
base  of  each  portico  is  forty  feet  long  and  including  the 
steps  extends  twenty-two  feet  and  seven  inches  in  ad- 
vance of  the  walls.  The  exterior  of  the  building  is  thus 
described:  From  the  window  sills  of  the  basement,  which 
will  be  level  with  the  pavements,  to  the  water  table,  the 
face  of  the  walls  is  made  of  large  blocks  of  cut  stone. 
The  water  table,  which  is  five  feet  one  inch  from  the 
ground,  is  composed  of  forty-eight  blocks,  sixteen  inches 
thick,  from  seven  to  nme  feet  long,  said  to  weigh  from 
six  to  eight  thousand  pounds  each  after  they  were 
dressed.  These  blocks  form  for  the  heavy  basement 
walls,  a  kind  of  coping;  from  the  outside  of  which  the 
walls  of  the  upper  story  make  an  offset  of  sixteen  inches, 
leaving  the  water  table  for  that  width  exposed  to  view 
entirely  around  the  building,  which  adds  much  to  the 
beauty  and  apparent  strength  of  the  work.  On  each 
of  the  fronts  there  are  eight  pilasters,  three  feet  and 
ten  inches  wide,  and  projecting  twelve  inches  from  the 
face  of  the  walls;  these  are  to  be  surmounted  by  cut 
stone  caps  supporting  the  architrave,  thus  giving  to  the 
the  building  the  appearance  of  being  studded  by  pillars. 
I  At  the  suggestion  of  the  investigating  committee  the 
pilasters  were  dressed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  doors, 
water  table,  jambs,  etc.  |  It  is  the  intention  to  use  rough- 
cast or  hard-finish  on  the  whole  building  except  where 
the  dressed  work  may  appear.  The  cornice  if  made  to 
the  plan  will  be  liighly  ornamental. ^  *  *  *  T\\it 
roof  is  to  be  surmounted  b}-  a  cupola,  which      *       *       * 

'  The  cornice  was  not  made  higlily  ornamental. 


The   Territorial  Capital.  6i 

will  be  ornamental  but  expensive.  The  base  of  the 
cupola  is  an  octagon,  supported  by  the  interior  vestibule 
walls.  Upon  this  base  stand  eight  corinthian  columns 
crowned  with  handsome  capitals  supporting  a  spherical 
roof.  Within  the  circle  of  the  columns  the  space  is 
enclosed  by  eight  long  windows  placed  also  in  an  octa- 
gonal form  by  which  light  is  communicated  to  the  stair- 
way descending  in  the  middle  of  the  building  through 
the  successive  stories.  As  constructed  the  Hght  is  shut 
out  from  the  main  stairway  which  leads  to  the  halls  of 
the  Assembly  in  the  second  story.  The  interior  arrange- 
ment is  as  follows:  The  basement  story  is  entered  by 
two  doors  in  the  opposite  ends,  both  opening  into  a  hall 
seven  feet  wide,  which  runs  directly  through  the  build- 
ing north  and  south,  dividing  it  into  two  equal  parts. 
There  are  four  rooms  on  each  side  about  twenty  feet 
square,  designed  for  committee  rooms.  There  is  also  a 
large  and  convenient  wood  room,  and  a  tire-proof  vault, 
arched  with  brick,  and  covered  wath  grouted  masonry 
more  than  three  feet  thick,  for  the  safety  of  public  docu- 
ments. On  the  next  floor  there  is  the  same  division 
north  and  south,  and  a  broad  hall  or  vestibule  east  and 
west  entered  from  the  porticos  on  each  side  of  the  build- 
ing. North  of  the  vestibule,  east  side,  is  a  room  forty- 
two  by  twenty- one  and  a  half  feet,  designed  for  the 
Supreme  Court;  a  corresponding  room  of  the  same  size 
on  the  south  of  the  vestibule,  is  designed  for  the  use  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Territory.  West  of  the  north  and 
south  hall  are  four  rooms,  equal  in  size,  designed  for 
the  use  of  the  Governor,  Auditor,  Treasurer,  and  the 
Librar}^  On  the  upper  floor  the  north  and  south  hall 
is  omitted.  In  the  south  wing  is  the  Representatives 
Hall,  fifty-two  feet  and  six  inches  by  forty-two  feet  in 


62  lozva   City. 

the  clear.  In  the  north  wing  are  the  Council  Chamber 
and  three  small  committee  rooms,  cut  off  from  the  west 
side  of  it."i 

Proposals  for  the  above  described  building  having 
been  published  in  the  lozva  JVezvs^'^  at  Dubuque,  the  con- 
tract for  its  erection  was  tinally  let  to  Rague  &  Co.^ 
Early  in  the  spring  of  1840,  Skeen  and  McDonald,  con- 
tractors for  Rague  &  Co.,  began  operations  on  the 
Capitol  with  a  large  force  of  hands.  The  work  was 
prosecuted  so  vigorously  that  by  the  4th  of  July  the 
contractors  were  ready  to  la}'  the  corner  stone;  accord- 
ingly preparations  were  made  for  the  laying  of  the 
corner  stone  of  the  Capitol  on  the  national  hoHday. 

Elaborate  arrangements  w^ere  made  for  this  imposing 
ceremony.  Governor  Lucas  came  up  from  Burlington 
to  deliver  the  oration.  A  great  public  dinner  or  barbe- 
cue was  held  in  the  city  park,  followed  by  toasts  and 
speeches.  And  all  the  while  the  booming  of  guns  was 
accompanied  by  the  cheers  of  pioneers,  shouting  for 
"Hberty"  and  "freedom,"  for  "Iowa"  and  her  "Capitol." 

About  this  time  Skeen  and  McDonald,  having  received 
$10,000  for  the  work  already  done,  quit  their  contract, 
leaving  matters  in  a  somewhat  embarrassing  condition. 
The  erection  of  the  Capitol,  however,  was  continued 
under  the   personal  direction  of  Chauncey  Swan.     But 

1  Taken  from  the  report  of  the  investigating  coiiiinittee  appointed  by 
the  Assembly  in  December,  1840. —  See  House  Jour.,  3rd  Leg.  Ass'y, 
la.  Ter.,  page  190.  The  description  as  it  appears  in  the  report  was 
found  not  only  to  be  incomplete  but  inaccurate  as  regards  the  measure- 
ments. I  have  therefore  taken  liberties  with  the  quotation  and  changed 
it  in  many  places. 

*  For  advertising  the  proposals  $91.00  was  paid  to  the  lotva  Neivs. — 
House  Jour.,  2nd   Leg.  Ass'y,  la.  Ter.,  page  123. 

'This  same  company  had  just  erected  the  state-house  at  Springfield, 
Illinois. 


The   Territorial  Capital.  63 

the  work  now  progressed  slowly.  Rock  for  the  water 
table  was  transported  overland  twenty  miles  from  Cedar 
County.  By  the  close  of  the  year  the  inside  walls  of 
the  building  were  raised  to  the  second  floor,  the  outside 
w^alls  of  the  north  end  to  the  top  of  the  second  tier  of 
windows,  the  east  front  to  the  center  of  the  second  tier 
of  windows,  and  the  south  end  and  west  front  nearly  to 
the  bottom  of  the  same.  In  this  condition  the  walls 
were  covered  for  the  winter. 

Doubts  as  to  the  abilit}-  of  Chauncey  Swan  and  a 
vague  suspicion  that  accounts  on  the  PubHc  Buildings 
were  not  quite  accurate  led  to  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  bv  the  Assembly  to  investigate  affairs  at 
Iowa  City.  This  was  in  December,  1840,  The  com- 
mittee proceeded  to  the  capital,  where  they  were  cordi- 
ally w^elcomed  by  the  townsmen  and  invited  to  a  public 
dinner.  After  examining  the  plans,  material  and  work- 
manship of  the  Capitol,  the  committee  thoroughly  in- 
spected all  papers  and  accounts  found  in  the  othce  of  the 
Acting  Commissioner,  the  condition  of  all  of  which  was 
embodied  in  a  detailed  report  to  the  Assembly.  This 
report,  while  it  revealed  the  fact  that  some  papers  and 
accounts  were  not  made  out  in  the  most  business-Hke 
manner,  contains  no  charges  of  corruption. 

All  this,  however,  led  to  a  change  in  the  management 
of  affairs  at  Iowa  City.  An  act  passed  in  January,  1S41 ' 
created  two  new  oflices,  namely:  the  office  of  "Super- 
intendent of  Public  Buildings"  and  the  office  of  "Terri- 
torial Agent."  The  duties  which  had  heretofore  belonged 
to  the  Actinor  Commissioner  were  now  divided  between 
these  two  offices,  the  Supenntendent  of  Public  Buildings 
having  charge  of  the   erection  of   the  Capitol  and  the 

J  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ten,  Session  1840-41  of  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  37. 


64  loiva   City. 

Territorial  Agent,  acting  as  secretary  and  treasurer, 
having  charge  of  the  sales  of  lots.  For  the  year  1841, 
Chauncey  Swan  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  Public 
Buildings,  and  Jesse  Williams,  Territorial  Agent. 

Agreeable  to  the  directions  of  the  Assembly,  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings  now  "  proceeded  with 
a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  work"  on  the  Capitol. 
During  the  months  of  March  and  April  a  competent 
number  of  hands  were  employed  and  set  to  work.  Yet 
it  was  impossible  to  put  the  Capitol  in  readiness  to 
accommodate  the  Legislative  Assembly  in  December. 
The  condition  of  the  building  at  that  time  was  described 
as  follows:  "The  walls  of  the  Capitol  on  the  east  front 
are  raised  to  the  bottom  of  the  cornice,  being  thirty-five 
feet  from  the  grround.  The  walls  of  the  west  front  and 
the  ends  of  the  building,  are  thirty  feet  from  the  ground. 
The  east  portico  has  also  been  raised  this  season."^ 

For  the  year  1842,  Wm.  B.  Snyder  was  appointed 
Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings,  and  John  M.  Cole- 
man, Territorial  Agent,  both  thoroughly  efficient  and 
competent  men.  Thinking  that  the  rock  that  was  being 
used  in  the  Capitol  was  of  an  inferior  quality,  Mr.  Sny- 
der, after  some  preliminary  examination,  discovered  a 
very  promising  bed  of  rock  about  ten  miles  northwest  of 
Iowa  City,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Iowa  River.-  This 
quarry  —  known  from  that  time  on  as  the  "Old  Capitol 
Quarry" — was  opened,  and  boats  were  prepared  for 
the  transportation  of  rock  down  the  river.  On  the  ist 
day  of  April  the  cutting  of  this  new  stone  was  begun 
at  the   Capitol.      Much    of   the   rock   already  laid   in   the 

'  Report  of  Territorial   Agent,  House  Jour.,  4th   Leg.  Ass'y,  la.  Ter., 

P-'Kc  53- 

*  Report  of  .Sup.  I'til).  Buildings. —  House  Jour.  5th  Leg.  Ass'y,  la. 
Ter.,  page  32. 


The   Territorial  Capital.  65 

walls  was  replaced  by  the  superior  material  from  the 
new  quarry.  During  this  season  the  roof  was  raised 
and  covered  with  "Alleghany  shingles"  purchased  in 
Cincinnati.!  The  Capitol  was  in  this  condition  when  on 
the  first  Monday  in  December,  1842,  the  furniture  hav- 
ing been  removed  from  Butler's  Capitol,  the  fifth  Legis- 
lative Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa  met  w^ithin  its 
walls. 

With  an  unfinished  interior,  semi-erected  porticos  and 
no  cupola — thus  the  Capitol  remained  for  a  number  of 
years.  After  Iowa  had  become  a  State,  appropriations 
were  made  from  time  to  time  for  its  completion.  But  to 
this  day  the  first  Capitol  of  Iowa  stands  unfinished,  the 
portico  on  the  west  front  being  entirely  wanting. 

Financial  History  of  the  Capitol. 

The  financial  history  of  the  Capitol,  which  to  be 
properly  understood  must  be  separately  considered,  is 
truly  significant.  It  explains  the  difficulties  under  which 
Iowa's  first  Capitol  was  erected,  the  long  delayed  com- 
pletion of  that  Capitol,  the  interference  on  the  part  of 
the  Territory  with  the  price  of  Iowa  City  real  estate, 
and  the  money  famine  that  existed  in  Iowa  City  from 
1 84 1  to  1844.  Furthermore,  it  illustrates  admirabh"  the 
law  that  bad  money  tends  to  drive  out  good  money,  ^ 
the  parsimony  of  the  early  Legislative  Assemblies,  state 
opposition  to  corporations,  and  that  tendency  to  over  leg- 
islation characteristic  of  new  commonwealths. 

1  The  bill  for  these  shingles  was  not  paid  until  the  Cincinnati  prop- 
erty of  William  B.  Snyder,  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings,  was 
about  to  be  seized,  when  the  Legislative  Assembly  came  to  his  relief 
and  paid  the  full  amount. —  Stat.  Laws,  Li.  Ten,  Session  1845  of  Leg. 
Ass'y,  page  97. 

*  I  refer  to  "Gresham's  Law." 


66  lozva  City. 

In  the  fii^st  place,  Congress  donated  to  the  Territory 
of  Iowa  $20,000  for  pubhc  buildings,^  and  a  section  of 
land  on  which  to  erect  said  buildings.  This  was  certainly 
not  a  large  donation;  but  from  the  outset  it  was  the  hxed 
policy  of  the  Territory  to  erect  its  Capitol  out  of  the 
funds  created  by  the  $20,000  of  cash  and  the  proceeds 
of  the  lots  laid  out  on  the  section  of  land  selected  as  the 
site  for  the  capital.  It  was  the  persistence  on  the  part 
of  the  Territory  in  carrying  out  this  policy  that  led  to 
the  financial  difhculties  involved  in  the  erection  of  the 
Capitol,  to  its  long  delayed  completion,  and  finally  to  the 
disgrace  of  the  faith  of  the  Territory. 

No  sooner  was  it  discovered  after  the  sales  of  'thirty- 
nine,  that  the  proceeds  of  the  lots  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment would  not  meet  the  immediate  expenses  of  erecting 
the  Capitol,  than  the  Territory,  ignoring  the  laws  of 
supply  and  demand,  appeared  as  a  "bull"  in  the  market 
and  attempted  to  raise  the  price  of  Iowa  City  real  estate. 
This  was  to  be  accomplished  by  means  of  legislative 
enactments  fixing  the  average  minimum  price  of  the  lots 
in  Iowa  City.  The  first  legislation  was  exceedingly  bold. 
By  an  act  approved  on  the  24th  of  June,  1840,-  the 
Assembly  directed  a  valuation  of  the  lots  to  be  made 
that  would  not  reduce  the  total  valuation  below  the 
average  sum  of  $300  per  lot,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  average  price  paid  for  lots  the  preceding  season 
was  only  $146.  But  the  interference  on  the  part  of  the 
Territory  to  raise  the  price  of  lots  met  with  no  success. 
For  in  less  than  seven  months  after  the  approval  of  the 
act  of  June  24th,  the  Assembly  ordered  the  average  mini- 
mum valuation    per   lot   reduced    from    $300  to   $200.^ 

'  L'.  S.  Stat,  at  Large,  Vol.  V,  page  239. 

'  Slat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Extra  Session,  1S40,  of  Leg.  Ass'v,  page  5. 

'  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session  1S40-41  of  Leg.  AssV,  page  60. 


The   Territorial  Capital.  67 

Again  in  Februaiy,  1842,  the  Territorial  Agent  was 
directed  to  reduce  the  average  minimum  price  of  the 
unsold  lots,  and  of  any  and  all  lots  which  had  become 
forfeited,  fifty  per  cent,  below  the  prices  fixed  thereon 
by  the  last  valuation.  ^  In  1843  the  average  minimum 
price  was  reduced  to  $80  per  lot.- 

Even  after  these  sweeping  reductions  lots  could  hardly 
be  sold  at  any  price.  In  1845,  Morgan  Reno,  the  Ter- 
ritorial Treasurer,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  unsold 
lots  w^ould  not  sell  for  more  than  an  average  of  $30.  In 
that  year  twenty  lots  were  sold  at  the  average  price  of 
$14  per  lot.^ 

The  causes  which  compelled  the  Territory  to  make 
such  great  reductions  are  evident.  The  valuation  in  the 
first  instance  was  much  too  high;  the  stream  of  immi- 
gration had  ceased  to  flow  in  so  rapidly;  good  desirable 
lots  purchased  at  the  first  sales  by  speculators  were 
afterwards  offered  at  prices  more  reasonable  than  those 
fixed  by  the  Territory  upon  the  remaining  unsold  lots; 
and  being  short  of  money  the  Territorial  Agents  had 
issued  large  amounts  of  scrip  for  labor  and  material  on 
the  Capitol,  which  scrip  was  good  for  its  face  value  only 
in  payment  for  lots  purchased  of  the  Territory.  Many 
laboring  men  who  had  purchased  lots  with  this  scrip 
would  offer  their  lots  at  a  sacrifice  in  order  to  get  U.  S. 
money.  In  competition  with  the  speculators  and  the 
scrip-purchased  lots  the  Territory  was  outdone. 

In  the  meantime,  while  the  Legislative  Assembly  was 
admirably  illustrating  the  foolishness  of  the  attempt  to 
artificially  raise   the  price  of  Iowa  City  real  estate  by 

1  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session  1S40-41  of  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  90. 
*  Report  of  Ter.  Agent,  House  Jour.,  6th  Leg.  Ass'y,  la.  Ter.,  page  283. 
s  Report  of  Ter.  Treas.,  House  Jour.,  Sth  Leg.  Ass'y,  la.  Ter.,  pages 
24S,  249. 


68  Iowa   City. 

means  of  legislation,  the  Acting  Commissioner  and  Terri- 
torial Agents  were  evolving  a  novel  monetary  scheme, 
which  in  the  end  all  but  resulted  in  complete  ruin. 

In  this  Chauncey  Swan  took  the  initiative,  when  in 
1840  he  sold  lots  to  the  amount  of  several  thousand  dol- 
lars to  be  paid  for  in  labor  and  material  on  the  Capitol.^ 
Men  who  worked  on  the  Capitol  were  paid  in  Iowa  City 
real  estate  certiticates  which  were  receivable  at  the  office 
of  the  Acting  Commissioner  in  pavment  for  lots.  In  1841, 
lesse  Williams,  the  Territorial  Agent,  went  a  step  farther 
than  his  predecessor.  Mr.  Williams  issued  certiticates  of 
indebtedness  to  laborers  and  other  creditors  of  the  Ter- 
ritory on  account  of  the  Capitol,  payable  to  the  bearer 
and  receivable  in  pa^-ment  of  any  debts  due  the  office.  ^ 
Notes  or  certificates  of  indebtedness  of  this  sort  were 
issued  during  the  year  1840  to  the  amount  of  $4,285.60. 
Many  of  these  certificates  naturally  found  their  wa}'  into 
the  hands  of  men  who  were  debtors  of  the  Territory  for 
lots  purchased.  Thus  the  certificates  would  in  the  course 
of  time  return  to  the  office  of  the  Territorial  Agent. 

It  will  be  observed,  however,  that  while  the  certificates 
of  indebtedness  served  well  enough  as  a  medium  of  ex- 
change, they  as  inferior  money,  drove  the  lawful  United 
States  currency  out  of  the  office  of  the  Territorial  Agent; 
and  the  difficulty  now  resolved  itself  into  the  problem, 
how  to  get  enough  good  money  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  office.  There  was  but  one  recourse  —  a  loan. 
Accordingly  on  the  28th  of  June,  1841,  the  Territorial 
Agent  made  a  loan  of  $5,000  of  the  Miners'  Bank  of 
Dubuque,  and  on  the  30th  of  September  of  the  same 
year  an  additional  loan  of  $500.    Both  loans  were  negoti- 

>  Report  of  Acting  Com.,  House  Jour.,  3rd  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  22. 
*  Report  of  Ter.  Agent,  House  Jour.,  4th  Leg.  Ass  y,  page  36. 


T]ie   Territorial  Capital.  69 

ated  on  the  faith  of  the  unsold  lots  in  Iowa  City.  The 
$5,000  note  was  to  be  paid  at  the  Bank  of  America  in 
the  cit}'  of  New  York,  eighteen  months  after  date,  with 
interest  at  the  rate  of  seven  per  cent,  per  annum,  payable 
quarterly  at  the  State  Bank  of  Missouri  in  the  city  of  St. 
Louis;  while  the  $500  note,  with  the  same  rate  of  inter- 
est, was  to  be  paid  nine  months  after  date  at  the  State 
Bank  of  Missouri  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  ^  But  to  the 
disgrace  and  humiliation  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  the 
$500  note  was  protested  at  the  Bank  of  Missouri,  and 
the  $5,000  note  was  not  fully  settled  until  the  3'ear  1847,* 
being  nearly  live  years  after  it  had  become  due.  And  in 
the  meantime,  the  Assembly  of  lowa,^  as  well  as  the 
Constitution  of  1846,  had  closed  the  doors  of  the  Miners' 
Bank.  When  paid,  the  Treasurer's  report  shows  that 
this  debt  amounted  to  $6,931.23.'^ 

It  was,  however,  in  1842  that  the  monetary  scheme 
adopted  b}'  the  Territorial  Agents  came  to  its  logical 
conclusion  —  repudiation.  The  large  number  of  hands 
employed  in  March  and  April  were  all  paid  in  scrip, 
issued  and  based  exclusively  on  unsold  lots,  and  made 
payable  to  the  bearer  and  receivable  at  the  office  for  all 
sales  made  after  the  first  day  of  A  fay. ^  The  town  was 
flooded  with  this  scrip,  and  U.  S.  money  began  rapidly 
to  disappear. 

At   the    office   of  the   Territorial    Agent    the    money 

1  Report  of  Ter.  Agent,  House  Jour.,  4th  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  36. 

-Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  ist  Session  Gen.  AssV,  page  43. 

^  Granted  by  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Territory  of  \V'isconsin 
in  November,  1S36,  the  charter  of  tlie  Miners'  Bank  of  Dubuque  was 
repealed  by  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  Iowa  in  May,  1S45. —  See  Stat. 
Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session  1S45  of  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  54. 

*  Report  of  State  Treas.,  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  Extra  Session  ist  Gen. 
Ass'y,  page  105. 

^  Report  of  Ter.  Agent,  House  Jour.,  5th  Leg.  Ass'y,  la.  Ter.,  page  28. 


70  loiva   City. 

famine  took  a  serious  turn.  The  laborers  at  the  quarry 
and  on  the  Capitol  demanded  at  least  money  enough  to 
supply  their  daily  wants;  for  the  scrip  would  not  pass 
with  the  merchants  for  goods,  ^  neither  would  it  be  taken 
by  the  farmers  for  provisions.  ^  And  all  the  while  this 
scrip  of  'fort3^-two,  along  with  certificates  of  'forty  and 
'forty-one,  was  being  returned  to  the  office  in  payment 
for  lots  and  for  redemption.  In  this  almost  hopeless 
condition  the  Territorial  Agent,  prohibited  by  the  Leg- 
islative Assembly  from  making  any  loans,  began  to 
repudiate  scrip  and  certificates  issued  by  his  own  office. 
It  was  but  a  partial  repudiation,  l)ased  upon  technical 
discrimination,  and  naturally  caused  much  dissatisfaction 
throughout  the  town.  The  Territorial  Agent  was  finally 
called  upon  to  explain  his  actions  to  the  Assembly. 
Whereupon  he  set  forth  the  whole  matter,  seeking  justi- 
fication in  the  fact  that  his  com-se  of  action  was  in  keep- 
ing with  the  manifest  intention  of  the  Assembly  to  have 
the  work  on  the  Capitol  carried  on  without  further 
delay.  ^  Good  U.  S.  money  was  necessar}^  to  prosecute 
the  work;  and  to  obtain  this  money,  repudiation  was  his 
only  recourse.  As  to  the  technical  discrimination,  he 
explained  that,  the  scrip  of  'forty-two  having  been  issued 
on  the  basis  of  unsold  lots  and  receivable  for  lots  sold 
after  the  first  day  of  Ma}-,  he  did  not  consider  himself 
bound  to  redeem  it  in  an}-  other  wa}'.  Furthermore,  in 
refusing  to  accept  certificates  of  tlie  issues  of  'forty  and 

'  A  few  mercliants  did  receive  i^crip  in  payment  for  goods,  but  at  a 
discount  of  nearly  fifty  percent.  The  firm  of  Murry  A:  Sanxay  received 
scrip  to  the  ainouut  of  several  thousand  dollars,  with  the  expectation  of 
having  it  redeemed  when  presented  to  the  Territory.  This  scrip  was 
finally  redeemed,  but  not  entirely  until  1S4S. 

*  Report  of  Ter.  Agent,  House  Jour.,  5th  Leg.  Ass'y,  la.  Ter.,  page  2S. 

»  Ibid^  page  56. 


The   Territorial  Capital. 


71 


'forty-one  in  payment  for  arrears  on  lots  sold  in  1839,  he 
maintained  that  these  certificates  were  based  on  lots  sold 
in  'forty  and  'fort3'-one  and  not  on  lots  sold  previous  to 

that  time.i  The 
plain  fact  in  the 
matter  was,  the 
Territorial 
Agent  resorted 
to  repudiation 
because  i  t  vv  a  s 
his  only  means  of 
getting  money, 
and  he  adopted  a 
technical  dis- 
crimination to 
give  this  repudi- 
ation the  face  of 
justice. 


1  See  Report  of  Ter. 
Agent,  House  Jour., 
5th  Leg.  Ass'y,  la. 
Ter.,  pages  56,  57,  58. 

Note.— The  speci- 
men of  scrip  given 
on  this  page  is  copied 
from  a  specimen  of 
the  issue  of  1842. — 
See  House  Journal  of 
the  Fifth  Legislative 
Assembly  of  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Iowa,  page 
5S.    ^ 


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72  lozva   City. 

Cost  of  the  Capitol. 

The  reports  of  the  Acting  Commissioner  and  Terri- 
torial Agents  are  so  compiled  that  it  is  impossible  to 
work  out  with  any  satisfactory  degree  of  accuracy  the 
sums  total  of  .the  receipts  and  expenditures  involved  in 
the  erection  of  the  Capitol.  Some  of  the  accounts  of 
Chauncey  Swan  are  exceedingh-  vague  and  indefinite. 
The  reports  are  all  too  general  and  by  no  means  uniform. 
Accounts  on  the  Capitol  are  often  inseparably  connected 
with  ^expenditures  arising  from  the  town  surveys  and 
improvements. 

I  will,  however,  venture  several  approximations,  which, 
although  not  strictly  correct,  are  of  sufficient  accuracy  as 
general  estimates.  The  receipts  arising  from  the  sales  of 
lots  from  1839  ^o  1846  amount  to  about  $75,000.  The 
special  cash  appropriation  of  Congress  was  $20,000.  At 
the  Miners'  Bank,  $5,500  was  borrowed.  And  after 
being  admitted  into  the  union  the  State  made  appropri- 
ations of  between  $15,000  and  $20,000.  This  would 
make  as  receipts  the  total  sum  of  about  $117,000.  After 
deducting  from  this  sum  $5,000  for  expenses  connected 
with  the  town  survevs  and  incidental  matters,  there 
remains  the  sum  of  $112,000  for  the  erection  of  the 
Capitol. 

From  another  line  of  investigation  I  come  to  nearly 
the  same  estimate.  After  taking  from  the  reports  those 
accounts  which  seem  to  pertain  to  the  Capitol  alone,  I 
find  that  they  amount  in  total  to  nearly  $111,500.  We 
may  therefore,  I  think,  safelv  estimate  the  cost  of  the 
Capitol  in  round  numbers  as  $112,000.1 

'  The  cost  has  also  been  estimated  at  ^123.000. —  See  lozva  Historical 
Record,  \o\.  I\',  page  107. 


The   Territorial  Capital.  73 

Local   Government   of  the   Territorial   Capital. 

As  the  territorial  capital,  Iowa  City  had  no  corporate 
form  of  municipal  government.  In  this  respect  it  was 
behind  the  other  important  towns  of  the  Territory. 

But  it  was  certainly  not  the  fault  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  that  Iowa  City  did  not  sooner  become  an 
organized  municipal  corporation ;  for  as  early  as  January 
1 84 1,  an  act  was  passed  to  incorporate  the  town  under  a 
special  charter.  ^  Rejected  at  the  time  of  its  tirst  passage, 
this  act  was  successively  revived  in  1842^  and  in  1844.^ 
As  to  the  rejection  of  the  act  after  its  second  revival  in 
1844,  the  Capital  Reporter  comments  editorially  as  fol- 
lows: "We  are  gratified  in  being  able  to  state  that  the 
good  sense  of  our  citizens  has  rejected  the  act  for  the 
incorporation  of  our  cit}-,  revived  at  its  last  session  by 
the  Legislature.  Had  this  act  of  incorporation  gone  into 
force,  the  consequences  would  have  been  in  all  probabil- 
ity, that  our  present  taxes  would  have  been  at  least 
doubled  within  one  year — and  the  citv  but  little  benefited 
by  the  additional  burden."^  The  dread  of  the  extra  bur- 
den of  taxation  undoubtedly  had  much  to  do  with  the 
rejection  of  the  charter. 

Another  potent  factor  which  meets  us  in  the  consider- 
ation of  the  attitude  of  the  town  towards  municipal 
government  is  the  peculiar  circumstance  which  always 
confronts  us  when  we  attempt  to  analyze  the  character 
of  low^a  City.  I  refer  to  the  fact  that  Iowa  City  was 
originally  founded  and  ozvned  bv  the  Territorv- 

During  the  first  six  years  of  its  existence,  Iowa  City 

1  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session  1840-41  of  Leg.  Ass'v,  page  97. 
*  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session   1S41-42  of  Leg.  Ass'v,  page  25. 
'  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session   1S43-44  of  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  156. 
•*  lozva  Capital  Reporter^  Vol.  Ill,  No.  i6. 


74 


Jo'iva  City. 


was  virtually  controlled  and  managed  by  the  officers 
who  had  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  Territory  at  the 
capital.  From  1S39  ^^  1841  this  officer  was  styled 
"Acting  Commissioner."  From  1841  to  1845  he  was 
styled  "Territorial  Agent,"  and  shared  his  duties  and 
influence  with  another  officer  known  as  "Superintendent 
of  Public  Buildings."  These  officers,  it  is  true,  were 
clothed  with  no  municipal  authority;  but  by  virtue  of  the 
high  prestige  of  their  office  they  had  a  great  influence 
in  local  matters.^ 


iThe 

1839 
1S40 
1841 
1841 
1842 
1842 
1843 
1843 
1844 
1845 
1845 


following  is  a  list  of  the 
Chauncey  Swan 
Chauncey  Swan 
Jessse  Williams 
Chauncey  Swan 
John  M.  Coleman 
Wm.  B.  Snyder 
John  M.  Coleman 
Wm.  B.  Snyder 
Anson  Hart 
Anson  Hart 
Morgan  Reno    . 


influential  men  from  1839  to  1S46: 

.  Acting  Commissioner. 

.  Acting  Commissioner. 

.  Territorial  Agent. 

.  Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings. 

.  Territorial  Agent. 

.  Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings. 

.  Territorial  Agent. 

.  Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings. 

.  Territorial  Agent. 

.  Territorial  Agent. 

.  Territorial  Treasurer. 


V. 
EDUCATIONAL    BEGINNINGS. 

"  It  is  with  a  reverence  such  as  is  stirred  by  the  head- 
waters of  some  mighty  river  that  one  looks  back"  to 
the  educational  beginnings  in  the  town,  which,  having 
become  the  seat  of  the  State  University,  is  now  the 
center  from  which  comes  the  inspiration  to  higher  edu- 
cation. 

These  beginnings,  although  tiny  when  contemplated 
in  the  light  of  our  present  institutions,  do,  nevertheless, 
reflect  much  credit  upon  the  character  of  the  early 
inhabitants  of  Iowa  City  and  the  Territory  of  Iowa. 
Such  a  luxuriant  growth  of  schools  as  sprung  up  during 
the  tirst  decade  certainly  indicates  a  richness  of  soil; 
and  if  they  died  prematurely,  that  was  due  to  their 
over-abundance.  Education,  at  first  confined  to  private 
schools,  was  taken  up  after  a  few  years  b}^  academies 
and  colleges,  which  in  turn  were  succeeded  by  the  for- 
mer system  of  private  enterprise.  The  private  schools 
reigned  for  about  six  years,  when  they  were  superseded 
by  the  free  public  schools  established  by  the  town 
council. 

It  was  in  the  year  1840  that  Jesse  Berry  opened  the 
first  school  in  Iowa  City  in  a  one-story  frame  building, 
which  he  had  erected  on  College  street  in  block  84,  just 
west  of  what  is  now  known  as  "  Coldren's  Grocery." 
Here,  in  this  building — which  was  used  as  school  house. 


76  Iowa   City. 

church  and  courthouse — the  children  of  Iowa  City  first 
met  to  learn  to  read  and  write  and  spell  and  count. 
Jesse  Berry  was  a  "school-master"  of  the  "old  school 
davs"  of  which  the  present  generation  knows  but  little.  ^ 
He  was  a  faithful  teacher  and  highly  respected  through- 
out the  town.  Sometime  during  the  same  year,  I.  M. 
Choate  opened  another  private  school  on  Market  street, 
in  that  little  old  frame  building  which  still  stands  on  the 
north  side  of  block  78,  just  back  of  the  EngHsh  Lutheran 
church. 

1  The  following  extracts  are  from  the  original  note-book  of  Jesse 
Berry,  which  has  been  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  Iowa  State  His- 
torical Society.  These  extracts  are  fitting  illustrations  of  the  cost  of 
education  in  a  pioneer  community;  of  the  way  in  which  tuition  was 
paid;  and  of  the  annoyances  with  which  the  early  school- masters  had  to 
contend. 

Jesse  Berry.     Iowa  City,  1840-41. 

F  E  Jones  Dr. 

to  tuition  up  to  the  time  he  ran  away 9.00 

by  washing  up  to  the  same  time Cr    2.00 

Walter  Butler Cr $     Cts. 

By  cash 5-62l^ 

By  100  brick 60 

To  tuition  up  to  the  20  of  August  1840 i5-87>^ 

Sanford  Harned  Cr. 

by  washing  one  pair  pantaloons i.oo 

John  Crum  Dr. 

To  tuition 1200 

To  house  rent 5.00 

By  hauling  one  load  of  posts 75 

1  chicken 12!-^ 

April  "jth,  received  payment  by  taking  a  due  bill •    .    .  i6.i2l^ 

Benjamin  Weiser Dr 

To  tuition  up  to  the  20  Aug.  1S40 S.oo 

Cr. 
By  3  days  work  @  $1.75  per  day 5.25 


JSducaiional  Beginnings.  *J*J 

Mechanics'  Academy. 

The  movement  in  favor  of  higher  educational  institu- 
tions was  inaugurated  by  the  "  Mechanics'  Mutual  Aid 
Association  of  Iowa  City"  in  1842 — notwithstanding  the 
incorporation  of  a  certain  "  Iowa  Seminary "  as  early  as 
December,  1840.  This  Mutual  Aid  Association  was 
organized  on  the  6th  of  January,  1841,  by  seven  Iowa 
City  mechanics.  It  was  a  thoroughly  public-spirited 
association  and  at  once  became  very  popular,  increasing 

David  A  Burns  Dr. 

To  tuition  up  to  Aug.  20.  1840 8.00 

By  mending  i  pair  of  shoes 87^ 

George  Ressler  Cr. 

by  hauling  brick  and  mortar 38 

C  K  Ward  Cr. 

by  I  lb  candles 25 

Sanford  Harned  Dr. 

To  tuition 4.75 

To  $1.00  tax  paid  sheriff i.oo 

Cr. 
By  washing 50 


By  13^  days  work 2.62I 

Joseph  Stover  Dr. 

to  tuition  48^  days 3.25 

George  T.  Andrews  Dr. 

to  tuition  120  days Soo 

Walter  Butler  Dr. 

3  spelling  Books 1.75 

to  county  order 5.00 

Benjamin  Weiser 

2  Spelling  Books 51 

B  P  Moore 4  bushel  potatoes         M  B 

Evans 34  bushel  Ruta  Bagas  M  B  @  25 

Butler 17      "  "  "         "      @  -5 

Butler 25  bushel  corn  M  B 

Kelby i       "•       onions  "      @  50 


78  lozua   City. 

its  membership  from  seven  to  sixty  in  the  course  of  one 
year.  The  greatest  work  of  the  association  was  the 
founding  of  the  "  Mechanics'  Academy." 

The  academy  building  was  erected  in  1842  on  the 
"School  Reserve"  east  of  the  "City  Park,"  the  south 
half  of  which  reserve  was  donated  in  1842/  and  the 
north  half  in  1844^  to  the  Mechanics'  Association,  for 
literarv  purposes.  On  the  14th  of  June  the  corner  stone 
was  laid;  and  a  proud  day  that  was  for  the  members 
of  the  association.  "Agreeable  to  invitation,  the  citi- 
zens assembled  about  2  o'clock  in  the  temporary  State 
House ^  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  procession  and 
marching  to  the  building  to  witness  the  ceremony  of 
laying  the  corner  stone  of  the  Mechanics'  Academy. 
Business  was  suspended  and  all  classes  left  their  occu- 
pations, and  devoted  the  afternoon  to  the  recreations 
attendant  upon  the  occasion.  The  procession  formed 
about  4  o'clock,  and  after  marching  through  the  princi- 
pal streets  of  the  city,  proceeded  to  the  ground.  At  the 
head  of  the  procession  we  noticed  different  clergymen 
of  the  city,  next  came  the  invited  guests  of  the  Associ- 
ation, then  the  officers  of  the  Association,  the  teachers 
and  children  of  the  different  schools,  and  a  large  con- 
course of  citizens  brought  up  the  rear.  The  choir  of 
the  Methodist  Protestant  Church  lent  their  aid  in  the 
entertainment.""^  The  oration  of  the  day  was  deHvered 
by  the  Rev.  John  Libby. 

Filled  with  enthusiasm  for  the  enterprise  so  favorably 
begun,  the  mechanics  pushed  forward  the  work  on  the 

1  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session  1S41-42  of  Leg.  Ass'v,  page  5. 

*  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter..  Session   1S43-44.  of  Leg.  Ass'v,  page  79. 

8  Butler's  Capitol.  Sec  Chapter  IV  on  "The  Territorial  Capital," 
page  58. 

*  lozmt  Cofilol  Reporter,  Vol.  I,  No.  29. 


Echicatio)iaI  Bcg'inniug's.  79 

Academy  with  much  vigor.  As  in  the  erection  of  a  dam 
by  the  Iowa  City  Manufacturmg  Company,  Httle  money 
was  required  to  carry  on  this  educational  enterprise. 
For  the  stock-holders  paid  for  their  shares  in  labor  and 
material;  the  mason  contributed  his  labor  in  the  laving 
of  the  walls,  and  the  carpenter  his  skill  and  his  lumber. 
In  this  novel  manner  the  mechanics  erected  a  two-story 
brick  building  tifty-four  and  a  half  feet  long  b}'  twenty- 
six  and  a  half  feet  wide.  When  completed  it  was  the 
tinest  school  building  in  all  the  Territory.  Within  its 
walls  the  State  University  of  low^a  had  its  beginning. 

In  i860  the  University  rented  the  academy  building 
for  a  period  of  five  years  at  an  annual  rent  of  $300.  By 
this  time  the  bulk  of  the  stock  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  Robert  Hutchinson,^  who  in  a  deal  wdth  the  Univer- 
sity gave  up  all  his  claim  to  this  property  in  exchange 
for  a  lot  on  College  street,-  which  had  come  into  the 
possession  of  the  University  on  the  foreclosure  of  a 
mortgage.  In  1866,  how^ever,  the  General  Assembly 
declared  that  the  original  "School  Reserve"  as  granted 
to  the  Mechanics'  Mutual  Aid  Association  had  reverted 
to  the  State  because  it  had  been,  used  for  other  than 
"literary  purposes;"  and  in  order  to  give  the  University 
a  clear  title  to  the  property  the  General  Assembly  re- 
donated  the  "Reserve"  to  the  University. ^ 

The  Academ}^  was  divided  into  two  departments:  a 
"male  department"  and  a  "female  department."  The 
female  department  was  opened  to  students  as  early  as 
June,  1843;  while  the  male  department  was  hrst  organ- 
ized in  October.     During  the  wanter  session  of  1843-44, 

1  The  original  stock-holders  sold  their  shares  to  Mr.  Hutchinson  at  a 
great  discount. 

*  See  Archives  of  the  State  University,  Record  A,  page  266. 
s  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  nth  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  5S. 


8o  Iowa   City. 

one  hundred  and  twenty  students  were  enrolled.  Messrs. 
W.  Hamilton  and  H.  Hamilton  assisted  by  Mrs.  Hamp- 
ton conducted  the  school  under  the  direction  of  the 
trustees. 

With  all  its  favorable  and  promising  beginnings  the 
Mechanics'  Academy  was  soon  abandoned.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  association  lost  interest  in  the  institution  and 
left  it  to  die  for  want  of  proper  support.  It  is,  never- 
theless, very  probable  that  it  would  have  developed  into 
a  first-class  academy  had  not  so  many  other  schools 
sprung  up  about  that  time  to  rob  it  of  its  patronage. 

Snethen  Seminary. 

The  "Snethen  Seminary "^  was  established  in  1844, 
by  the  Illinois  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 
denomination.  According  to  the  original  plan  of  organ- 
ization there  w^as  to  be  a  preparatory,  a  collegiate  and  a 
theological  department.  W.  B.  Snyder  was  the  chief 
promoter  of  the  institution,  and  W.  K.  Talbot  was  the 
principal  teacher.  The  Methodist  Protestant  church  on 
Iowa  Avenue  was  used  for  recitation  purposes.  Snethen 
Seminary  was  never  a  strong  school,  and  when  trouble 
arose  with  the  principal,  Mr.  Talbot,  it  went  down 
rapidly.     Its  total  existence  fell  short  of  two  years. 

Iowa  City  College. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  approved 
February  15th,  1843,  "Iowa  City  College"  was  incor- 
porated.- Established  by  and  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  this  college  was  to  be 

*  Named  in  honor  of  Nicholas  Snethen,  of  Cincinnati,  a  prominent 
clerfjyman  in  the  Methodist  Protestant  denomination. 

*  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session  1842-43  of  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  75. 


Educational  Beginnings.  8i 

founded  upon  "  a  plan  most  suitable  for  the  benefit  of 
the  youth  of  every  class  of  citizens  and  of  every  relig- 
ious denomination,  who  shall  be  freely  admitted  to  equal 
advantages  and  privileges."^  The  Board  of  Trustees 
together  with  the  Faculty  were  granted  the  power  "to 
confer  upon  the  deserving  any  and  all  degrees  in  the 
arts  and  in  the  learned  professions."  The  north  half  of 
block  five  was  donated  to  the  college,  provided  that  a 
college  edifice  be  erected  thereon  within  a  limited  time.- 
On  the  3rd  day  of  April,  1843,  the  Board  of  Trustees 
were  sworn  in  with  the  Rev.  James  L.  Thompson  as 
President;  and  in  April,  1846,  the  College  was  organized 
by  James  Harlan,  ^  who  took  charge  of  the  institution  as 
"President  and  Professor  of  Mental  and  Moral  Science." 
Mr.  Harlan  was  assisted  by  an  additional  professor  and 
several  instructors.  The  grade  of  studies  actually  taught 
was  preparatory.  For  recitation  and  other  school  pur- 
poses the  College  occupied  the  edifice  on  Iowa  Avenue 
formerly  owned  and  occupied  by  the  Methodist  Protest- 
ant denomination.  (The  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
had  recently  purchased  this  building  from  the  Methodist 
Protestants.)  Like  its  predecessors,  Iowa  City  College 
was  in  active  operation  less  than  two  years.  It  was 
brought  to  a  close  primarilv  bv  the  resignation  of  Mr. 
Harlan.^  During  its  existence  it  was  satisfactoril}-  suc- 
cessful as  a  college  preparatory  school.  ^ 

'  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session  1S42-43  of  Leg.  Ass'y,  page  76. 

8  Ibid^  page  80. 

s  Now  the  Hon.  James  Harlan,  of  Mt.  Pleasant. 

■*  Mr.  Harlan  resigned  because  he  had  been  elected  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  in  Iowa. 

^  The  facts  relating  to  Iowa  City  College  were  given  to  me  by  Hon. 
James  Harlan,  who  is  still  living. 


82  lozua   City. 

Iowa  City  University. 

Of  all  the  early  educational  projects,  that  of  the  Iowa 
City  University  was  the  most  elaborate  in  its  scheme  of 
oro'anization  and  the  most  detailed  in  its  plan  of  opera- 
tion. In  short  it  was  to  be  a  university;  and  in  this  sense 
it  was  the  precursor  of  the  present  State  University. 

Iowa  City  University  was  incorporated  b}'  an  act  of 
the  Legislative  Assembly  approved  June  2nd,  1845.^ 
The  act  provided:  that  the  University  shall  be  under 
the  direction  of  a  board  of  thirty  regents,-  who  shall 
hold  their  first  meeting  at  the  Capitol  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  June,  1845;  that  the  lirst  Board  of  Regents 
chosen  by  the  stockholders  shall  be  elected  on  the  first 
Monday  in  March,  1845,  and  ever  afterwards  once  in 
every  three  vears;  that  the  stock  of  said  Universit}'  shall 
consist  of  shares  of  twentj'-five  dollars  each:  that  the 
Governor  of  Iowa  shall  be,  ex-officio.  President  of  the 
Board  of  Regents;  that  the  Board  of  Regents  shall  have 
power  to  connect  with  the  University  a  Law  School  and 
a  Medical  School,  and  may  admit  charity  students,  re- 
ceive donations  and  bequests  for  the  University,  and 
confer  any  and  all  degrees  in  the  arts  and  in  the  learned 
professions  —  and  in  conferring  such  honors  anv  person 
entitled  to  a  seat  in  the  Council  or  House  of  Representa- 
tives shall  be  entitled  to  a  seat  and  vote  with  the  Board 
of  Regents. 

>  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session  1845  of  Leg.  AssV,  page  61. 

-  Regents  were:  Sinylie  H.  Bonliam,  Charles  R.  Fisk,  H.  D.  Dow- 
ncv,  William  K.  Talbot,  James  Robinson,  Robert  Gower,  A.  H.  Daven- 
port, Edward  E.  Fay,  Morgan  Reno,  Edward  Johnson,  G.  W.  Jeffries, 
A.  H.  Robbins,  James  Clark,  M.  D.  Talbot,  John  McConnell,  E.  B. 
Turner,  Josiah  H.  Bonney,  Joseph  B.  Teas,  William  Patterson,  Moses 
Beers.  George  S.  Hampton,  Joseph  B.  Davis,  E.  Metcalf,  F.  Springer, 
R.  F.  .Shinn,  William  Abbe,  Thomas  S.  Wilson,  John  Brophy,  and  G. 
II.  Walworth. 


Educational  Beginnings.  83 

Besides  the  articles  of  incorporation,  the  onh'  other 
source  of  information  regarding  this  University  is  a  small 
bundle  of  letters  and  papers  preserved  in  the  library  of 
the  State  Historical  Society.  From  these  we  learn  that 
James  Robinson  was  President  of  the  Iowa  City  Univer- 
sity, and  in  the  absence  of  the  Governor,  served  as 
President  of  the  Board  of  Regents;  that  George  S. 
Hampton  was  Secretar}';  that  agents  were  sent  out  to 
solicit  "donations  and  bequests;"  and  that  "the  multi- 
plicit}'  of  agents  for  the  various  benevolent  causes  and 
the  Society  to  aid  Western  Colleges"  were  a  "great 
hinderance"  to  these  University  agents.  Furthermore 
from  these  same  papers  we  learn  that  it  was  resolved: 
"That  there  be  a  preparatory  department  to  the  I.  C. 
University  which  shall  go  into  immediate  operation,  and 
also  that  classes  be  organized  for  the  University  itself 
as  fast  as  students  may  be  obtained  or  are  sufficiently 
advanced  for  the  purpose;"  that  "any  selected  professor 
of  the  Universit}'  who  shall  obtain  funds  sufficient  to 
endow  a  professorship  shall  be  permanently  continued;" 
that  the  practical  duties  of  religion  may  be  recommended 
by  the  professors  to  the  students  of  the  University,  yet 
no  sectarian  tenets  shall  be  taught  to  the  students  of  said 
University;  that  students  who  are  unable  to  defray  the 
expense  of  tuition,  on  producing  evidence  thereof,  shall 
be  entitled  to  have  their  tuition  free,  provided  they 
evince  a  scholarship  to  entitle  them  to  this  favor." 

The  committee  appointed  to  employ  instructors  for 
the  preparatory  department  reported  that  they  had 
secured  the  services  of  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Talbot,  the  Rev. 
W.  D.  Talbot  and  the  Rev.  Charles  R.  Fisk  as  said 
instructors. 

A  committee  also  recommended  "that  the  Sessions  of 


84  lo'iva   City. 

each  Department  consist  of  five  calendar  months  each, 
and  that  all,  except  such  as  with  whom  a  special  agree- 
ment is  made  at  entrance,  by  the  trustees  or  professors, 
be  taxed  for  not  less  than  a  whole  session,  unless  in  the 
opinion  of  the  trustees  they  are  detained  by  sickness, 
and  the  prices  of  tuition  be  per  session,  as  follows : 

For  Orthography,  Reading,  Writing,  Mental  Arithmetic     .     .     .    $3.75 

For  Orthograplij,  Arithmetic,  Grammar  and  the  commencement 

of  Latin 6.00 

Modern  and  Ancient  Geography,  History,  Elements  of  Astron- 
omy, Natural,  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy,  Mineralogy, 
Geology,  Botany,  Rhetoric,  Logic,  Mathematics,  etc.,  and  the 
remaining  Collegiate  studies 8.50 

To  the  above  prices  $1.00  per  session  to  be  added  where  payment  is 
delayed  to  the  close  of  the  Session. 

Agents  of  the  Iowa  City  University  went  as  far  south 
as  Kentucky  and  as  far  east  as  Boston  to  solicit  dona- 
tions. In  the  library  of  the  State  Historical  Society  there 
are  about  one  hundred  and  forty  volumes,  some  of  them 
over  one  hundred  years  old,  which  were  presented  to 
the  University.  1 

The  only  evidence  that  the  University  was  ever  put 
into  actual  operation  is,  that  in  the  latter  part  of  March, 
1846,  there  was  a  public  examination,  and  at  the  public 
exhibition  given  on  the  ist  and  2nd  of  April  "the  origi- 
nal addresses,  dissertations,  dialogues  and  disputations  of 
the  young  ladies  and  gentlemen,  a  portion  of  which  were 
in  Greek  and  Latin,  were  all  respectable,  and  many  of 
theni  of  superior  quality." 2 

'  These  same  books  were  afterwards  donated  to  the  "  Iowa  Female 
Collegiate  Institute." 

*  Capitol  Reporter,  Vol.  V,  No.  10. 


Educational  Beginnings.  85 

From  Private  to  Public  Schools. 

The  whole  movement  toward  higher  education  was 
premature.  There  was  neither  wealth  nor  patronage  in 
Iowa  adequate  for  its  proper  support.  Consequently 
the  birth  of  Academy,  Seminary,  College  and  University, 
all  within  the  period  of  five  or  six  years,  proved  fatal. 
There  was  not  patronage  enough  for  all;  and  in  the 
strutjg'le  for  existence  thev  strangled  each  other.  Not 
one  of  these  larger  institutions  survived;  and  education 
was  again  left  to  private  individual  enterprise. 

Thus  in  proportion  as  these  more  ambitious  attempts 
failed,  private  schools  flourished.  Mr.  Choate's  school 
had  continued  all  the  while;  and  as  early  as  September, 
1 84 1,  Mrs.  Hulin  opened  a  school  for  youn'g  ladies^  in  a 
little  house  on  block  61,  near  the  corner  of  Linn  and 
Washington  streets.  From  the  Standard  we  learn  that 
in  1843  there  w^ere  two  private  schools  in  operation: 
one  conducted  by  Dr.  W,  Reynolds,  called  the  "Select 
School"  and  numbering  forty  pupils;  the  other  num- 
bered thirtv-five  pupils  and  was  managed  by  Mr.  Hart.^ 

In  1844  there  was  still  another  private  school,  known 
as  the  ''Iowa  City  Institute."^  Three  years  later,  H.  W. 
Lathrop  (now  librarian  of  the  State  Historical  Society) 
opened  a  school  in  the  basement  of  the  old  Methodist 
Protestant  church.  From  1847  to  1853,  private  enter- 
prise in  education  reached  the  acme  of  its  success. 

But  the  transition  from  private  to  public  education  had 
already  set  in  as  early  as   1847.     Iowa  City  township* 

1  lo-va  City  Standard^  Vol.  II,  No.  13. 

2  lo-Ma  Standard,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  32. 
8  lozva  Standard,  Vol.  IV,  No.  46. 

*  The  number  of  school  children  returned  for  the  whole  township  in 
1847  was  416;  and  the  school  fund  apportionment  for  :he  same  year 
was  $170.60. 


86  lozva  City. 

was  then  divided  into  two  districts,  viz :  No.  i,  southern, 
and  No.  2,  northern.  On  the  25th  of  May,  1847,  Mr. 
A.  G.  Gower  opened  the  first  free  public  school '^  in  the 
building,  which  by  that  time  had  become  noted  as  a 
school  edifice  —  the  Methodist  Protestant  church 2  on 
Iowa  Avenue.  (It  was  at  the  close  of  Mr.  Gower's  first 
term  that  ]Mr.  Lathrop  opened  his  school  in  the  same 
building.)  But  for  six  years  after  this  beginning,  the 
free  schools  were  of  little  consequence,  there  being  no 
adequate  funds  for  their  support.  There  was  no  local 
taxation  for  educational  purposes,  and  the  apportionment 
from  the  State  was  meager. 

The  change  from  the  private  to  the  public  system  of 
education  is  interestingly  illustrated  in  the  experience  of 
H.  W.  Lathrop  in  the  northern  district.  When  the  free 
school  was  closed  for  want  of  funds,  Mr.  Lathrop  would 
organize  private  classes.  But  when  the  state  apportion- 
ment was  received  he  would  secure  the  contract  for  the 
free  school,  take  his,  private  pupils  with  him  and  become 
a  public  teacher.  When  the  public  funds  were  exhausted 
he  would  again  organize  his  private  classes.  But  after 
the  incorporation  of  Iowa  City  in  1S53,  all  this  came  to 
and  end,  and  an  efficient  system  of  v/ard  schools  was 
established  by  tlie  town  council. 

Iowa  FE:\rALE  Colle<;iate  Ixstitute. 

As  the  period  of  educational  beginnings  was  coming 
to  a  close  a  final  attempt  was  made  to  establish  a  large 
educational  institution.  The  scheme  this  time  was  in- 
augurated by  the  Independent  Order  of  Octd  Fellows, 
and  aimed  at  the  founding  of  a  female  seminar\'.    As  the 

1  lo-va  Standard,  New  Series,  Vol.  I,  No.  47. 
»  Called  at  this  time  the  "  College  Building." 


Educational  Beginnings.  87 

originator  of  this  project,  the  Rev.  A.  Russell  Belden 
first  laid  his  plans  before  the  lodge  on  the  20th  of  July, 
1S53.  On  the  records  of  the  next  meeting  of  the  lodge 
appears  the  following:  '•'•Resolved,  That  this  lodge  sub- 
scribe $600.00  for  the  erection  of  a  Female  Seminary  in 
Iowa  City,  under  the  articles  of  incorporation  proposed 
by  Bro.  A.  R.  Belden,  etc."i 

Under  the  name  of  the  "Iowa  Female  Collegiate 
Institute"  the  proposed  institution  was  incorporated  for 
a  period  of  twenty  years,  beginning  with  the  29th  day 
of  July,  1853.  The  capital  stock,  which  was  divided  into 
shares  of  twenty-five  dollars  each,  was  not  to  exceed 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  nor  be  less  than  five 
thousand  dollars,  and  was  to  be  "raised  by  voluntar\' 
donations  to  the  institution  by  encampments,  lodges, 
members  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and 
other  friends  of  the  enterprise."  One  hundred  dollars 
in  stock  secured  a  fellowship  consisting  of  free  tuition  in 
all  branches  of  the  collegiate  department  for  twenty 
years  or  for  life.  "  The  sole  government  of  the  school, 
together  wdth  the  use  of  the  buildings,  appurtenances, 
and  profits  of  said  school  shall  be  vested  in  A.  Russell 
Belden  and  Sarah  L.  i\llen  during  the  period  of  twent}- 
years  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  The 
Board  of  Trustees  shall  consist  of  the  principals  of  the 
institution  and  two  persons  chosen  annually  from  each 
lodge  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  in  Iowa 
City." 

The  new  enterprise  had  the  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  lodges,  and  six  thousand  dollars  was 
speedily  raised.     The  use  of  the  west  half   of  College 

1  Historical    Sketch   of   Kosciusko    Lodge,    I.  O.  O.  F.,   Iowa    City, 
page  II. 


88  loiva   City. 

Green  (now  known  as  College-hill  Park)  was  granted 
by  the  town  council^  as  a  site  for  the  seminary  building, 
which  was  located  near  the  southwest  corner.  The 
corner  stone^  was  laid  in  October.  C.  O.  Waters,  of 
Muscatine,  delivered  the  address  on  this  occasion,  and 
R.  H.  Sylvester  read  a  poem. 

The  erection  of  the  seminary  building  was  under  the 
personal  direction  of  Mr.  Belden,  who  indeed  was  the 
chief  promoter  of  the  whole  undertaking.  As  planned 
by  Mr.  Banbury,  the  building  was  to  be  constructed  of 
brick,  thirty  by  eighty  feet  and  three  stories  high.  By 
the  month  of  August,  1S55,  "^^  walls  of  the  basement 
and  lirst  story  were  completed,  when  Mr.  Belden  sud- 
denly died  of  Asiatic  cholera.  This  sad  death  proved 
disastrous  to  the  Iowa  Female  Collegiate  Institute;  for 
no  one  could  be  found  with  the  abilitv  and  enthusiasm 
necessary  to  carry  on  the  work  so  successfullv  begun. 

In  1856,  C.  Billings  Smith  made  an  attempt  to  revive 
the  fallen  enterprise  but  met  with  complete  failure.  Col- 
lege Green  reverted  to  the  town,  and  in  the  course  of 
time  the  half-completed  walls  were  torn  awav.  With 
the  downfall  of  the  Iowa  Female  Collegiate  Institute, 
Iowa  City  witnessed  the  last  failure  to  establish  a  large 
educational  institution  in  her  midst.  State  institutions 
now  became  the  principal  factors  in  Iowa  City's  educa- 
tional history. 

School  for  the  Blind. 

By  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  approved  January 
i8th,  1853,''  an  "Asylum  for  the  Blind"  was  established 

'  See  Ordinance  No.  20  in  Citv  Ordinances  publislied  in  1S57. 
*  The  contents  of  tiie  box  placed  in  the  corner  stone  are  preserved  in 
the  library  of  the  Iowa  Slate  Historical  Society. 
»  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  4tii  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  47. 


Educational  Beginnings.  89 

at  Iowa  Cit}'  under  the  principalship  of  Samuel  Bacon. 
The  institution  was  opened  for  the  reception  of  students 
on  the  4th  of  April.  Mr.  Bacon  was  assisted  by  T.  J. 
McGittigen  as  instructor  in  music,  and  by  Mrs.  Sarah  K. 
Bacon,  as  matron.  As  principal,  Mr.  Bacon,  though 
blind  himself,  conducted  the  institution  with  eminent 
success.  In  August,  1862,  the  school  was  removed  from 
Iowa  City  to  Vinton,  in  Benton  County. 

School  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb. 

The  State  "Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb"  was 
established  at  Iowa  City  in  accordance  with  an  act  of 
the  General  Assembly  approved  January  24th,  1855.^ 
At  that  time,  out  of  the  three  hundred  and  one  deaf 
mutes  in  the  State,  lift}'  attended  this  state  school.  W. 
E.  Ijams,  who  in  fact  had  started  the  institution  as  a 
private  school,  was  made  principal:  but  in  1S62  he  re- 
signed and  Benjamin  Talbot  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 
In  1866  a  strong  effort  was  made  to  remove  the  institu- 
tion to  Des  Moines,  which  failed.  Soon  afterwards, 
however,  it  was  removed  to  Council  Bluffs. 

Churches. 

It  can  hardly  be  charged  that  Iowa  City  was  the  seat 
of  infidelitv;  for  the  a'l'owth  of  her  churches  was  as 
luxuriant  as  the  growth  of  her  schools,  and  far  more 
persistent.  Almost  from  the  very  beginning  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Iowa  City  were  surrounded  by  the  most  favor- 
able religious  conditions.  Within  a  sincjle  decade  seven 
different  societies  had  been  orjjanized  and  seven  church 
buildinors  erected. 

1  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  5th  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  133. 


po  Iowa   City. 

The  impetus  and  diversity  given  to  religious  develop- 
ment in  these  early  years  were,  however,  in  a  measure 
the  result  of  an  outside  stimulus  as  found  in  the  liberal 
policy  of  making  certain  land  donations.  This  polic}' 
was  outlined  by  Chauncey  Swan  in  1839,  when  on  the 
town  plat  he  caused  four  half-blocks  to  be  reserved  for 
church  purposes.  1  (See  Chapter  II  on  "The  Founding 
of  Iowa  City,"  page  30. )  In  keeping  with  Mr.  Swan's 
policy  the  Legislative  Assembly  in  Jul}-,  1840,  passed 
"An  Act  to  grant  certain  lots  of  land  in  Iowa  Citv,  for 
Church  and  Literary  purposes."'  According  to  this  act 
any  religious  denomination  then  existing  in  the  United 
States  was  entitled  to  one  equal  half  of  any  of  the 
reserved  half-blocks,  "  conditioned  that  they  will  erect 
and  finish  on  said  lot  a  meeting  house  or  place  of  wor- 
ship within  three  years  from  the  passage  of  this  act." 
The  conditions  of  the  act,  it  will  be  observed,  neces- 
sitated immediate  action  on  the  part  of  those  denomina- 
tions wishing  to  obtain  the  benefits  of  the  land  donations. 

From  1840  to  1843,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  gen- 
eral religious  movement  in  Iowa  Cit}-,  which  resulted 
in  the  organization  of  local  branches  of  the  following 
denominations:  jVIethodist  Episcopal,  Methodist  Protest- 
ant, Catholic,  Presbyterian,  New  School  Presbyterian, 
Baptist  and  Universalist.  Of  these  all  but  the  Pres- 
byterian and  New  School  Presbyterian  built  on  lots 
reserved  and  granted  by  the  Territory  in  accordance 
with  the  conditions  above  named. 

1  Church  street  derived  its  name  from  the  circumstance  of  having 
been  the  street  on  which  two  of  the  reservations  were  located.  No 
churclies,  however,  were  ever  erected  on  Cliurch  street. 


VI. 

THE    STATE    CAPITAL. 
First  Constitutional  Convention, 

Iowa  City  is  preeminently  the  historical  capital  of 
Iowa.  For  not  only  was  it  the  permanent  capital  of  the 
Territory  of  Iowa,  but,  upon  the  admission  of  the  Ter- 
ritory into  the  Union,  it  also  served  as  capital  of  the 
State  for  a  period  of  twelve  years. 

Two  years  and  ten  months  after  the  first  meeting  of 
the  Legislative  x\ssembly  at  Iowa  City,  "An  Act  to 
provide  for  the  expression  of  the  opinion i  of  the  people  of 
the  Territory  of  Iowa  upon  the  subject  of  the  formation 
of  a  State  Constitution  for  the  State  of  Iowa"  was  passed 
by  the  Assembly  and  approved  February  12th,  1844.^ 
At  the  township  elections  held  in  the  month  of  April 
following  the  passage  of  this  act,  the  people  of  the  Ter- 
ritory decided  by  large  majorities  in  favor  of  a  consti- 
tutional convention.  Accordingly  at  the  next  regular 
election  seventy-two  delegates  were  chosen  to  attend 
such  a  convention.^ 

On  Monday,  October  7th,   1S44,  the  delegates  from 

1  Before  the  Assembly  had  ever  met  at  Iowa  City,  State  Government 
had  ah-eady  been  talked  of  in  parts  of  the  Territory. —  Bloomington 
Herald,  Vol.  II,  No.  6. 

2  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session  1S43-44,  page  13. 

3  In  the  election  of  delegates  the  Democrats  were  victorious,  electing 
a  majority  of  the  delegates. 


.92  lovja   City. 

the  different  counties  of  the  Territory  assembled  in  the 
Capitol  at  Iowa  City  to  draft  a  constitution  for  the  future 
State.  The  convention  was  called  to  order  b}-  Gen. 
Francis  Gehon,  of  Dubuque  County,  and  upon  his  motion 
Ralph  P.  Lowe,  of  Muscatine,  was  appointed  President 
■pro  ton.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Snethen  opened  the  convention 
with  prayer.  1  After  the  delegates  had  presented  their 
credentials,  committees  were  appointed  to  examine  these 
credentials  and  prepare  rules  for  the  government  of  the 
convention.^ 

On  the  da}^  following,  Shepherd  Leffler,  of  Des 
Moines  County,  was  unanimously  elected  President  of 
the  convention.  After  listening  to  a  short  speech  by 
Mr.  Leffler  the  delegates  at  once  vigorousl}'  applied 
themselves  to  the  task  before  them  in  a  business-like 
manner.  3  A  constitution  having  been  formulated,  the 
first  constitutional  convention,  after  a  session  of  twenty- 
four  days,  adjourned  sine  die  on  the  morning  of  Novem- 
ber ist,  1844.'^ 

The  Boundary  Dispute. 

But  when  the  constitution  of  1844  was  presented  to 
Congress  a  dispute  arose  between  Congress  and  the 
people  of  the  Territor}-  over  the  question  of  state 
boundaries.  As  fixed  by  the  constitutional  convention 
•the  boundaries  of  the  future  State  were: 

Beginning  in  the  middle  of  the  main  cliannel  of  the  Mississippi  river 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  river;  tlicnce  up  the  said  river 

1  A  motion  to  have  the  convention  opened  each  day  witli  prayer 
was,  after  considerable  discussion  running  through  several  days,  indefi- 
nitely postponed. —  See  Journal  of  Convention,  page  31. 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  pages  3,  4. 

*  lo-va  Capital  Report cr,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  40. 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  page  211. 


The  State  Cafital.  95 

Des  Moines  in  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  thereof,  to  a  point  where 
it  is  intersected  by  the  Old  Indian  Boundary  line,  or  line  run  by  John 
C.  Sullivan  in  the  year  iSi6;  thence  westwardly  along  said  line  to  the 
"Old  North-west  corner  of  Missouri;"  thence  due  west  to  the  middle 
of  the  main  channel  of  the  Missouri  river;  thence  up  in  the  middle  of 
the  main  channel  of  the  river  last  mentioned  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sioux 
or  Calumet  river;  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the  middle  of  the  main 
channel  of  the  St.  Peter's  ri^•er,  where  the  Watonwan  river  (according 
to  Nicollet's  map)  enters  the  same;  thence  down  the  middle  of  the  main 
channel  of  said  river  to  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river;  thence  down  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  said  river, 
to  the  place  of  begin ning.i 

Congress  was  not  satisfied  with  these  boundaries,  and 
in  an  act  approved  March  3rd,  1845,  ordered  that  part 
of  the  constitution  which  referred  to  boundaries  to  read : 

Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Des  Moines  river,  at  the  middle  of  the 
Mississippi,  thence  by  the  middle  of  the  channel  of  that  river  to  a  par- 
allel of  latitude  passing  through  the  mouth  of  the  Mankato  or  Blue- 
Eaith  river,  thence  west  along  the  said  parallel  of  latitude  to  a  point 
where  it  is  intersected  by  a  meridian  line,  seventeen  degrees  and  thirty 
minutes  west  of  the  meridian  of  Washington  city,  thence  due  south  to 
the  northern  boundary  line  of  the  state  of  Missouri,  thence  eastwardly 
following  that  boundary  to  the  point  at  which  the  same  intersects  the 
Des  Moines  river,  thence  b}'  the  middle  of  the  channel  of  that  river  to 
the  place  of  beginning. 2 

In  April  the  new  state  constitution  was  submitted  to 
the  people  of  the  Territory.  But  the  people,  unwilling 
to  concede  to  the  few  changes  made  in  the  boundaries 
by  Congress,  rejected  the  constitution  entire. 

When  the  Legislative  Assembly  met  in  June,  1845,  an 
act  was  passed  ordering  the  constitution  to  be  re-submit- 
ted to  the  people  of  the  Territory  upon  the  first  Monday 
of  August  for  their  ratification  or  rejection:  '■'■Provided, 
That  the  ratification  of  the  constitution  shall  not  be  con- 
strued as  an  acceptance  of  the  boundaries  fixed  by  Con- 

*  Journal  of  Convention,  page  187. 

'  U.  S.  Stat,  at  Large,  Vol.  V,  page  742. 


94  Iowa   City. 

gress  in  the  late  act  of  admission,  and  the  admission 
shall  not  be  deemed  complete  until  whatever  condition 
may  be  imposed  by  Congress,  shall  be  ratified  by  the 
people."^  At  the  August  election  the  constitution  of 
1844  was  again  rejected  by  the  people  of  the  Territory. 

Negro    Suffrage. 

In  these  early  days  there  existed  in  Iowa  a  predomi- 
nant sentiment  against  negro  suffrage.  Accordingly  the 
provisions  relating  to  suffrage  incorporated  in  the  con- 
stitution drafted  in  1844  read:  "Every  white  male,  etc." 
Yet  there  did  exist  a  small  minorit}'  who  advocated 
negro  suffrage;  and  when  the  convention  of  1844  met 
at  Iowa  City  to  draft  a  constitution  for  the  future  State, 
a  petition,  praying  that  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
other  citizens  be  granted  also  to  people  of  color,  was 
presented  and  read  to  the  convention.  A  few  da3's  after 
the  readmg  of  the  petition,  the  committee  appointed  to 
consider  it  reported  that  in  their  opinion  it  would  be 
inexpedient  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petition.  And  in 
support  of  their  position  the  committee  attempted  to 
reconcile  the  doctrine  of  expediency  with  the  social 
compact  theory  of  government,  as  Vvill  be  seen  in  the 
following: 

That  all  men  are  created  equal,  and  are  endowed  by  their  Creator 
with  equal  unalienable  rights,  your  committee  are  free  to  admit:  That 
so  far  as  nature  is  concerned  those  rights  are  as  sacred  to  the  black  man 
as  the  white  man,  and  should  be  so  regarded.  This  liowever  is  a  mere 
abstract  proposition,  and  although  strictly  true,  when  applied  to  man  in 
a  state  of  nature;  yet  it  becomes  very  much  modified  when  man  is  con- 
sidered in  the  artificial  state  in  which  government  and  society  places 
him.  Thus  the  infant  is  not  entitled  to  liberty  or  the  pursuits  of  hap- 
piness until  he  arrives  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.     Females  by  the 

1  .Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.  Session  1845,  page  3:. 


The  State   Capital.  95 

arbitrary  rules  of  society  are  excluded  and  debarred  from  many  things 
which  males  consider  rights  and  high  privileges — such  as  the  elective 
franchise,  holding  office,  &c.  Now  in  these  cases  the  female  and  infant 
are  denied  what  we  abstractly  term  unalienable  rights,  and  they  submit 
without  complaint  or  murmer.  No  one  thinks  of  sympathizing  with 
them  in  their  deprivations.  The  philanthropist  has  never  had  occasion 
to  commiserate  their  fate,  still  it  is  in  those  respects  the  same  as  the 
citizen  of  color.  The  negro  is  surely  no  better  than  our  wives  and  chil- 
dren, and  should  not  excite  sj'mpathy  when  they  desire  the  political 
rights  W'hich  they  are  deprived  of. 

The  great  error  that  exists  in  the  minds  of  our  citizens  who  reason 
in  favor  of  negro  suffrage  and  citizenship,  arises  from  their  mingling  the 
natural  and  artificial  rights  of  man,  and  treating  the  artificial  institu- 
tions of  government  as  sacred  and  as  undeniable  to  man  as  the  abstract 
rights  of  nature;  a  position  which  is  untrue  in  point  of  fact,  and  in 
opposition  to  the  experience  of  the  whole  world.  Governments  are 
strictly  conventional,  and  although  based  upon  the  laws  of  nature,  they 
are  necessarily  limited  and  circumscribed  in  their  operation.  It  is  made 
for  those  who  are  to  be  benefitted  by  it,  and  is  not  bound  to  imbar  its 
doors  and  receive  every  vagrant  who  may  take  refuge  in  it. 

Government  is  an  institution  or  an  association  entered  into  by  man, 
the  very  constitution  of  which  changes  or  modifies  to  a  greatei-  or  less 
extent  his  natural  lights.  Some  are  surrendered,  others  modified.  The 
compensation  for  these  sacrifices,  is  found  in  the  greater  security  in 
those  rights  retained,  and  a  cheapening  of  the  expense  of  protecting 
them.  It  is  a  means  sought  by  man  to  make  more  available,  secure, 
and  certain  his  unalienable  rights  of  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuits  of  hap- 
piness. Thus  the  citizen  acquires  a  species  of  property  in  his  govern- 
ment, which  he  has  a  right  to  enjoy  without  molestation  and  without 
disturbance.  In  forming  or  maintaining  a  government  it  is  the  privi- 
lege and  duty  of  those  who  have  or  are  about  to  associate  together  for 
that  purpose  to  modify  and  limit  the  rights  or  wholly  exclude  from  the 
association,  any  and  every  species  of  persons  who  would  endanger,  les- 
sen or  in  the  least  impair  the  enjoyment  of  these  rights.  We  have  seen 
that  the  application  of  this  principle  limits  the  rights  of  our  sons,  modi- 
fies the  privileges  of  our  wives  and  daughters,  and  would  not  be  unjust 
if  it  excluded  the  negro  altogether. — 'Tis  the  party  to  the  compact  that 
should  complain,  not  the  stranger.  Even  hospitality  does  not  sanction 
complaint  under  such  circumstances.  True,  these  persons  may  be  un- 
fortunate, but  the  government  is  not  unjust. 

If  your  committee  are  correct  in  their  views,  the  question  presented 
for  consideration  is  plainly  this:  Would  the  admission  of  the  negro  as 
a  citizen  tend  in  the  least  to  lessen,  endanger  or  impair  the  enjoyment 


96 


loiva   City. 


of  our  governmental  institutions — in  other  words  would  the  accession 
of  a  negro  population  produce  any  of  these  consequences.  If  it  would 
we  should  be  unwise  to  admit  them,  if  it  would  not,  then  it  would  be 
wanton  and  wrong  to  exclude  them.  The  whole  subject  should  be 
properly  treated  as  a  question  of  policy  or  contract  where  self  interest  is 
just  as  properly  consulted,  as  in  the  promotion  of  a  commercial  treaty 
or  a  private  contract.  'Tis  the  -vliite  population  who  are  about  to  form 
a  government  for  themselves — no  negro  is  represented  in  this  conven- 
tion, and  no  one  proposes  to  become  a  member  of  the  compact.  'Tis  the 
white  population  of  this  Territory  who  petition  for  the  admission  of  the 
negro.  They  necessarily  believe  that  the  introduction  of  such  a  popu- 
lation as  citizens  would  not  interfere  with  the  enjoyments  of  the  white 
citizens,  or  they  place  this  admission  on  the  ground  that  the  negro  has 
the  arbitrary  claim,  based  as  a  natural  right.  The  proposition  would 
stand  thus: 

I  St,  That  the  negroes  are  a  desirable  or  at  least  a  harmless  popu- 
lation: 

2nd,  That  the  negro  has  a  natural  right  to  be  admitted  as  an  equal 
citizen. 

The  former  proposition  begs,  the  latter  commands. 

Can  the  negro  be  admitted  to  those  privileges  and  not  impair  the 
rights  of  the  whites.'  your  committee  think  not.  The  Government  then 
would  be  unjust  to  admit  them.  The  negro  not  being  a  party  to  the 
government  has  no  right  to  partake  of  its  privileges. 

However  your  committee  may  commiserate  with  the  degraded  condi- 
tion of  the  negroes,  and  feel  for  his  fate,  yet  they  can  never  consent  to 
open  the  doors  of  our  beautiful  State  and  invite  him  to  settle  our  lands. 
The  policy  of  other  States  would  drive  the  whole  black  population  of 
the  Union  upon  us.  The  ballot  box  would  fall  into  their  hands  and  a 
train  of  evils  would  follow  that  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee  would 
be  incalculable.  The  rights  of  persons  would  be  less  secure,  and  private 
property  materially  impaired.  The  injustice  to  the  white  population 
would  be  beyond  computation.  There  are  strong  reasons  to  induce  the 
belief  that  the  two  races  could  not  exist  in  the  same  government  upon 
an  equality  without  discord  and  violence,  that  might  eventuate  in  insur- 
rection, bloodshed  and  final  extermination  of  one  of  the  two  races.  No 
one  can  doubt  that  a  degraded  prostitution  of  moral  feeling  would  ensue, 
a  tendency  to  emalgamate  the  two  races  would  be  superinduced,  a  de- 
graded and  reckless  population  would  follow;  idleness,  crime  and 
misery  would  come  in  their  train,  and  government  itself  fall  into  anar- 
chy or  despotism.  Having  these  views  of  the  subject  your  committee 
think  it  inexpedient  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petition. * 

'  Journal  of  Convention,  page  52. 


The  State   Capital.  97 

Second  Constitutionat.  Convention. 

The  constitution  of  1S44  had  been  rejected;  but  by 
an  exceedingly  small  majority.  The  sentiment  in  favor 
of  state  government  was  still  strong  throughout  the 
Territory;  and  on  the  17th  day  of  January,  1846,  an  act 
of  the  Legislative  Assembly  was  approved  providing  for 
the  election  of  delegates  to  a  convention  to  form  a  con- 
stitution and  state  government.'  In  pursuance  of  this 
act  thirty-two  delegates  were  elected  at  the  township 
elections  held  in  April. 

On  the  4th  day  of  May,  1846,  the  second  constitu- 
tional convention  convened  at  Iowa  City  in  the  halls  of 
the  Capitol.  Enos  Lowe  was  elected  President  of  the 
convention.  As  in  1844  there  was  a  business-like  dis- 
posal of  the  work  in  hand.  There  was  no  loafing,  no 
waste  of  public  funds.  In  the  course  of  two  wrecks  the 
labors  of  the  convention  were  completed,  and  final  ad- 
journment was  made  on  May  19th.  The  constitution 
adopted  by  this  convention  was  subsequently  accepted 
by  the  people  of  the  Territory  on  the  3rd  day  of 
August,  1846,  by  a  vote  of  9,492  to  9,036.- 

The  two  important  questions  discussed  in  the  conven- 
tion of  1846  related,  the  one  to  state  boundaries,  and  the 
other  to  corporations  (especially  banking  corporations). 
After  much  debate  the  question  of  state  boundaries  was 
settled  by  the  adoption  of  those  lines  which  to  this  day 
obtain  for  the  State.  The  discussion  on  corporations 
was  more  intense  and  resulted  in  the  total  prohibition, 
for  a  time,  of  all  banking  business  within  the  limits  of 
Iowa. 

1  Stat.  Laws,  la.  Ter.,  Session   1S45-46,  page  37. 

2  Bloomingtoti  Herald^  New  Series,  Vol.  I,  No.  22. 


98  lozua   City. 

The  Abolition  of  Banks. 

The  hostility  toward  banking  corporations,  which  was 
so  effectually  incorporated  in  the  constitution  of  1846, 
was  as  old  as  the  Territory.  It  first  manifested  itself 
in  repeated  attacks  on  the  Miners'  Bank  of  Dubuque. 
Inherited  from  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin,  ^  the  Miners' 
Bank  never  was  cherished  by  the  people  of  Iowa. 
Indeed  it  was  looked  upon  by  them  with  a  feeling  of 
jealousy  and  suspicion.  Intensified  by  the  hard  times 
that  followed  the  panic  of  1837,  this  feeling  began  to  call 
for  the  repeal  of  the  Bank's  charter.  At  the  same  time 
a  general  movement  against  banking  corporations  was 
inaugurated  throughout  the  Territory. 

The  strength  of  this  sentiment  in  1S44  ma}'  be  gauged 
by  section  3  of  article  IX  of  the  State  constitution  drafted 
in  that  year,  which  section  reads: 

The  Legislature  shall  create  no  bank  or  bankhig  institution,  or  cor- 
poration witii  banking  privileges  in  this  State,  unless  the  charter  witli 
all  its  provisions,  shall  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  at  a  general 
election  for  State  officers,  and  receive  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  the 
•qualified  electors  of  this  State,  cast  for  and  against  it. 

In  1845  the  Legislative  Assembly  repealed  the  char- 
ter of  the  Miners'  Bank  of  Dubuque  and  provided  for 
"winding  up  the  affairs  of  the  same."^  This  action  of 
the  Assembly  was  based  upon  the  charge  that  the  char- 
ter had  been  abused  or  misused.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Miners'  Bank  maintained  that  there  had  been  no 
such  abuse  or  misuse,  and  resisted  the  enforcement  of 
the  act.  The  matter  was  then  taken  to  the  courts,  and 
a  decisi(jn  rendered   against   the    Bank   h\  the  Supreme 

^  Sec  Chapter  IN'  on  "The  Territorial  Capital,"  page  69,  foot-note  3. 
*  Stat.  Law^,  la.  Ter.,  .Session    1S45  of  Leg.  Assy,  page  54. 


The  State  Capital.  99 

Court.*  Whether  the  Assembly  was  justitied  in  abolish- 
ing the  Miners'  Bank,  I  do  not  know.  But  in  repeahng 
the  charter  without  at  the  same  time  making  satis- 
factory arrangements  for  the  payment  of  certain  just 
debts 2  due  the  Bank  from  the  Territory,  the  Legislative 
Assembly  certainly  committed  a  disgraceful  breach  of 
faith. 

The  movement  against  banking  corporations  did  not 
end  with  the  repeal  of  the  charter  of  the  Miners'  Bank. 
In  1846  it  reached  the  point  where  the  total  abolition 
of  all  banks  and  banking  business  was  demanded.  And 
to  satisfy  this  demand  the  following  provision  was  incor- 
porated in  the  constitution  vmder  which  Iowa  became  a 
State : 

No  corporate  body  shall  hereafter  be  created,  renewed  or  extended, 
with  the  privilege  of  making,  issuing,  or  putting  in  circulation,  any  bill, 
check,  ticket,  certificate,  promissory  note,  or  other  paper,  or  the  paper 
of  any  bank,  to  circulate  as  money.  The  General  Assembly  of  this 
State  shall  prohibit,  by  law,  any  person  or  persons,  association,  com- 
pany or  corporation,  from  exercising  the  privileges  of  banking,  or  creat- 
ing paper  to  circulate  as  money. ^ 

Iowa  remained  without  banks  until  1857,  or  for  about 
twelve  years.  By  the  new  State  constitution  drafted  in 
1S57,  banking  business  was  again  legahzed.'*  In  1858, 
"An  Act  to  Incorporate  the  State  Bank  of  lowa"^  and 
"An  Act  authorizincr  General  Banking  in  the  State  of 
Iowa"®  were  passed  by  the  General  Assembly. 

1  Morris  Reports  (Iowa),  page  48^. 

-  See  Chapter  IV  on  "The  Territorial  Capital,"  pages  6S,  69. 

3  Article  IX,  Section  i  of  Constitution  (1S46). 

4  Article  VIII  of  Constitution  (1S57). 

5  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  7th  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  125. 
*  Ibid,  page  215. 


lOO  loiva  City. 

An  Era  of  Progress. 

It  has  already  been  observed  that  the  growth  and 
development  of  Iowa  City  during  the  first  two  years  of 
its  existence  was  phenomenal.  ^  But  as  early  as  1842  a 
reaction  had  set  in.  There  was  a  great  decrease  in  real 
estate  values;  business  congested;  and  the  ambitious 
attempts  in  education  failed  completely.  However,  with 
the  admission  of  Iowa  into  the  Union  in  1846,  with  all 
the  privileges  and  powers  of  a  sovereign  State,  the  tide 
of  fortune  again  turned  in  favor  of  the  capital  city. 

The  constitutional  conventions  of  'fort}'- four  and 
'forty-six  had  added  much  to  the  reputation  of  Iowa 
City  abroad.  For  throughout  the  Territory  the  con- 
stitutions were  discussed  and  incidentally  Iowa  City 
would  receive  mention  in  the  same  breath.  Then  be- 
sides there  was  the  added  dignity  of  being  the  State 
capital.  With  the  increase  of  population  there  had 
been  a  corresponding  increase  of  public  business.  The 
Assembly  expanded,  and  new  pubhc  offices  were  cre- 
ated. And  all  this  helped  to  intensify  the  activities  at 
the  capital. 

The  re-invigoration  was  soon  perceptible.  In  May, 
1847,  the  Standard  records  that:  "At  no  time  within 
two  or  three  years  past  has  there  been  such  a  show  of 
active  business  operations  in  our  city  as  at  present.  The 
merchants  have  fine  stocks  of  cfoods  and  seem  to  be 
driving  a  profitable  trade  in  their  respective  lines;  the 
mechanics  are  busily  employed;  the  citizens  enjoy  good 
health;  and  in  every  part  of  the  town  there  is  a  general 
righting  up  of  houses,  door-yards,  gardens  and  enclos- 
ures, indicating  a  reaction  of  public  spirit.     The  country 

1  Chapter  III  on  "The  Beginnings  of  Municipal  Life,"  pages  37,  38. 


The  State   Capital.  loi 

having  taken  a  healthy  start,  we  may  now  look  forward 
to  a  steady  improvement."  ^ 

And  this,  let  it  be  remembered,  was  the  glorious 
period  in  the  history  of  Iowa  City,  the  era  of  progress 
- — ^from  the  meeting  of  the  first  two  constitutional  con- 
ventions in  1844  and  1846  to  the  meeting  of  the  third 
convention  in  1857.  Just  beginning  to  realize  the  vast 
possibilities  of  her  resources,  Iowa  felt  strong  in  the 
vigor  of  youth ;  and  as  the  capital,  Iowa  City  partook  of 
this  robust  and  exuberant  feelino-.  Furthermore  the 
town  was  now  influenced  by  the  touch  of  such  high- 
minded  men  as  Robert  Lucas,  John  Chambers,  James 
Harlan,  W.  Penn  Clarke  and  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood. 

Iowa  City  was  the  seat  of  high  courts  of  justice.  The 
Supreme  Court  of  Iowa  met  in  the  northeast  room  on 
the  lower  floor  of  the  Capitol.  And  from  time  to  time 
the  United  States  District  Court  met  in  the  same  room. 

During  this  period  Iowa  City  became  historic  as  the 
birth-place  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  Iowa  law 
and  jurisprudence.  The  three  state  constitutions,  as 
well  as  the  code  of  185 1,  were  all  drafted  in  Iowa  City. 

Early  Railroad  Projects. 

Iowa  Cit}'  was  just  beginning  to  feel  the  impulse  of 
a  renewed  life,  when  by  the  entrance  of  railroads  into 
the  city  of  Chicago,  there  was  aroused  throughout  the 
West  a  general  interest  in  railroad  construction.  In 
Iowa  this  interest  was  most  active  in  and  around  Du- 
buque,^  where  on  the  nth  of  March,  1848  a  large  public 
meeting^  was  held   for   the   purpose   of  taking  steps  in 

1  lo-va  Standard,  New  Series,  \o\.  I,  No.  45. 

s/<5/rf,Vol.  II,  No.  26. 

s  "  Dubuque"  in  loxva  Standard,  New  Series,  Vol.  II,  No.  26. 


I02  lozva   City. 

reference  to  a  railroad  that  would  connect  Lake  Michi- 
gan with  the  Mississippi  1  and  extend  into  Iowa.  At  the 
same  time  the  people  of  Bloomington-  (Muscatine),  Iowa 
City,  Keokuk,  Davenport  and  Burlington  were  not  asleep 
to  the  advantages  of  railroads.  Moreover,  Iowa  City, 
being  the  capital  of  the  State,  was  naturally  the  objec- 
tive point  of  all  the  early  railroads  projected  within  the 
limits  of  Iowa. 

The  tirst  railroad  proposed  within  the  limits  of  Iowa 
was  to  run  from  Dubuque  to  Keokuk  via  Iowa  City 
through  the  counties  of  Dubuque,  Jones,  Linn,  Johnson, 
Washington,  Henry  and  Lee.  And  so  considerable  was 
the  interest  taken  in  this  scheme  that  in  January,  1848, 
the  General  Assembly  memorialized  Con<rress  for  lands 
to  be  appropriated  in  the  construction  of  a  railroad  from 
Dubuque  to  Keokuk.^ 

In  December,  1848,  the  board  of  directors  for  the 
Dubuque  &  Keokuk  Railroad  met  at  Iowa  City  and 
elected  Maj.  L.  H.  Langworthy,  of  Dubuque,  President; 
P.  R.  Skinner,  of  Anamosa,  Secretarv;  and  J.  H.  Fisher, 
of  Iowa  City,  Treasurer.  At  this  meeting  the  directors 
listened  to  a  report  of  the  engineer  appointed  to  make 
a  reconnoisance  of  the  proposed  route.  According  to 
this  report  the  length  of  the  route  was  estimated  at 
about  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  miles.  The  super- 
structure contemplated  was  to  consist  of  "  longitudinal 
sills,  cross  sills  and  rails,  all  of  timber,  the  rails  sur- 
mounted with   iron   plates."     As  estimated,  the  cost  of 

'  This  was  known  as  the  Chicago  iV  Galena  I^aiiioad. — lov^'u  Sfaiid- 
ar(i,'Se\v  Series,  Vol.  II,  Xo.  17. 

2  See  Iiloomin<rton  Herald,  New  Series,  Vol.  II,  Nos.  S3,  S6. 
2  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  Extra  Session,  1S47-4S,  page  100. 


The  State   Cafital.  103 

the  road  completed  and  ready  for  cars  was  to  be  $2,071.- 
788.00.1  The  detailed  report  of  the  engineer  was  pre- 
sented to  the  General  Assembly,  and  accepted  bv  that 
body  in  Januar}-,  1849,  ^"  ^  joint  resolution  memorializ- 
ing Congress  a  second  time  for  a  grant  of  lands  to  aid 
in  the  construction  of  the  proposed  road.^  In  1851,  the 
company  was  granted  a  right  of  way;^  but  the  Dubuque 
&  Keokuk  Railroad  was  never  constructed. 

Besides  the  Dubuque  and  Keokuk  project  the  other 
proposed  roads  were:  The  Davenport  &  Council  Bluffs 
Railroad,  to  run  "  from  Davenport  via  Bloomington 
(Muscatine),  Iowa  City  and  Fort  Des  Moines  to  some 
suitable  point  near  Council  Bluffs  on  the  Missouri 
River ;"^  the  Camanche  &  Council  Bluffs  Railroad,  to 
run  "from  Camanche  in  Clinton  Countv  via  Dewitt, 
Tipton,  Iowa  City  and  Fort  Des  Moines  to  Council 
Bluffs  on  the  Missouri  River;"''  and  the  Lyons  Iowa 
Central  Railroad,  to  run  "from  the  Narrows  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River  in  the  town  of  Lyons,  in  Clinton  County 
[via  Iowa  City  ]  to  Council  Bluffs." « 

Davenport  &  Iowa  City  Railroad  Company. 

On  the  14th  day  of  October,  1850,  the  Davenport  «& 
Iowa  City  Railroad  Company  was  organized  by  a  few 
of  the  citizens  of  Iowa  City  who  on  that  day  met  at  the 
office  of  George  S.  Hampton.  James  P.  Carleton  was 
elected  President;    LeGrand  Byington,  Treasurer;  and 

1  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  2nd  Gen.  Ass'y,  Resolution  No.  5,  page  171. 

2  Ibid^  page  171. 

*  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  3rd  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  129. 

*  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  2nd  Gen.  AssV,  Resolution  15,  page  1S4. 
B  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  31-d  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  70. 

*  Ibid^  page  95. 


1 04  lozva   City. 

Henry  W.  Lathrop,  Secretary.^  Five  thousand  dollars 
had  already  been  subscribed  to  the  capital  stock  of  the 
company.  2 

The  people  of  Davenport  had  already  expressed  their 
willingfness  to  concur  with  the  citizens  of  Iowa  Citv  in 
this  new  enterprise,  when,  on  the  21st  of  October,  1850, 
at  a  special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  held  at 
Iowa  City,  LeGrand  Bvington  was  authorized  to  pro- 
ceed to  Davenport  and  Rock  Island  for  the  purpose  of 
procuring  the  services  of  an  engineer  to  make  a  survey 
of  the  proposed  route. ^  Soon  afterwards  the  necessary 
surveys  were  made  by  one,  Richard  P.  Morgan.*  The 
notes  of  the  survey,  along  with  an  estimate  of  the  cost 
of  constructing  a  road  and  of  the  probable  amount  of 
business,  were  then  published  in  pamphlet  form  and  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  East,  the  object  being  to  get 
eastern  capitalists  interested  in  the  proposed  railroad.^ 

At  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  held 
at  Iowa  City  on  the  2nd  of  November,  it  was  resolved 
to  send  a  memorial  to  Congress  praying  for  a  grant  of 
lands. <*  In  Januar}-,  1851,  the  use  of  "Center  Market'"' 
in  Iowa  City  was  granted  to  the  company  b}'  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  as  well  as  a  right  of  way  through  the 
State. 8 

It  was,  however,  not  so  much  the  sincere  object  of 
the  Davenj">ort  &  Iowa  City  Railroad  Company  to  build 

1  Original  MS.  Records  of  the  D.  cV  I.  C.  R.  R.  Co.,  page  i. 

*  Ibid,  page  i. 
'  Ibid,  page  3. 

*  Ibid,  page  9. 

''  Oral  testimony  of  the  company's  Secretary,  H.  W.  Lathrop. 
«  Original  MS.  Records  of  the  D.  &  I.  C.  R.  R.  Co.,  page  5. 
'  .Slat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  3rd  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  19. 
"*  Ibid,  page  22. 


The  State  Capital.  105 

a  railroad  as  it  was  their  purpose  to  survey  a  route, 
obtain  a  right  of  vvav,  show  up  the  feasibihty  of  building 
railroads  in  Iowa,  and,  when  the  opportunity  should  pre- 
sent itself,  to  transfer  their  rights  and  property  to  the 
first  railroad  company  that  proposed  to  enter  the  State, 
provided  Iowa  City  be  made  a  point  in  the  construction 
and  operation  of  the  road.^  The  desired  opportunity 
came  with  the  organization  of  the  Mississippi  &  Missouri 
Railroad  Company  at  Chicago  in  1853. 

Mississippi  &  Missouri  Railroad  Company. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Mississippi  &  Missouri  Railroad 
Company  in  Chicago  in  May,  1853,  LeGrand  Byington 
represented  the  interests  of  the  Davenport  &  Iowa  City 
Railroad  Company,  and  W.  Penn  Clarke,  assisted  by 
LeGrand  Byington,  was  delegate  on  behalf  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Iowa  City.  After  the  Chicago  meeting  the  lead- 
ing men  of  the  M.  &  M.  R.  R.  Co.  appeared  in  Iowa 
City,  and  at  a  public  meeting  unfolded  their  plans  as 
follows : 

1.  They  assumed  to  build  the  first  division  of  the 
main  line  to  Iowa  Citv  in  two  vears. 

2.  To  extend  a  branch  from  Iowa  City  to  the  Min- 
nesota line,  through  Cedar  Rapids. 

3.  To  construct  and  operate  another  branch  from 
Iowa  City  through  Washington  to  the  Missouri  at  St. 
Joseph. 

4.  To  pay  all  interest  on  county  and  city  bonds  issued 
until  the  road  paid  dividends  at  the  rate  of  10  per  cent. 

In  consideration  whereof  they  required  local  stock 
subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  about  $140,000. 

About    $30,000   was   immediately   subscribed   by  the 

1  Oral  testimony  of  the  company's  Secretary,  H.  \V.  Lathrop. 


io6  lozva  City. 

citizens.  Soon  afterwards  bonds  were  voted  by  Johnson 
County  to  the  amount  of  $50,000  and  by  Iowa  Cit}-  to 
the  same  amount.  And  the  Davenport  &  Iowa  City 
Raih'oad  Companv  transferred  to  the  M.  «&  M.  R.  R. 
Co.,  all  their  rights,  franchises,  property  and  stock  on 
the  conditions  heretofore  named. 

The  work  on  the  main  division  of  the  road  from  Dav- 
enport to  Iowa  City,  which  was  begun  at  once,  was  to 
be  completed  bv  the  ist  day  of  January,  1856.  As  the 
eventful  day  approached  there  was  great  excitement  and 
stir  in  Iowa  City.  The  citizens  resolved  to  hold  a  grand 
railroad  festival  on  the  3rd  of  Januarv,  and  donated 
$2,600  to  meet  expenses.  Invitations  were  sent  out  to 
prominent  citizens  of  Chicago,  Rock  Island,  Dubuque, 
Burlington  and  other  Iowa  towns. 

On  the  last  day  of  December  it  was  feared  that  the 
road  w'ould  not  be  finished  that  da\'.  Whereupon  a 
number  of  the  citizens  of  Iowa  City  laid  hold  of  the 
work  with  their  own  hands.  Their  labors  were  con- 
tinued far  into  the  night  and  in  the  light  of  large  wood 
fires  and  burning  tar  barrels  presented  a  dramatic  scene. 

At  two  o'clock  JanuarN'  3rd,  the  booming  of  guns 
announced  the  arrival  of  seven  cars  filled  with  guests, 
who  were  received  by  the  citizens  and  escorted  to  the 
Capitol.  Here  they  were  welcomed  by  LeGrand  Bying- 
ton,  the  President  of  the  dav.  Dr.  Maxwell,  of  Chicago, 
responded  on  behalf  of  the  guests.  Then  followed  the 
banquet  with  toasts  and  speeches.  The  old  stone  Capi- 
tol never  witnessed  a  more  joyous  occasion.  It  was 
long  after  midnii^ht  when  the  last  strains  of  music  hushed 
and  the  last  foot-falls  resounded  through  the  corridors  of 
the  Capitol. 

Having  reached  Iowa  City  in  January,  1S56,  the  M. 
&  M.  R.  R.  Co.  (lid   not   for  se\'eral  years   extend  their 


The  State  Capital .  107 

road  farther  west.  This  fact  contributed  much  to  the 
importance  and  growth  of  Iowa  City;  for,  being  the 
terminus  of  the  only  raih"oad  in  Iowa-,  the  trafiic  and 
immigration  to  interior  Iowa  necessarily  passed  directly 
through  the  town.  The  era  of  progress  which  had  set 
in  about  1847,  continued;  and  Iowa  City  now  grew 
rapidly,  notwithstanding  she  was  about  to  lose  her  dis- 
tinction as  the  capital  city. 

A  Municipal  Corporation. 

Without  an  organized  form  of  municipal  government 
for  a  period  of  fourteen  years,  Iowa  City  was  finally 
incorporated  under  special  articles  of  incorporation  pass- 
ed by  the  General  Assembly  and  approved  on  the  24th 
of  January,  1S53. 

Previous  to  this,  however,  there  had  been  an  attempt 
to  maintain  a  town  government  which  after  a  trial  of 
several  months  proved  ineffectual.  The  officers  elected 
at  the  time  w^ere:  James  Robinson,  Mayor;  Anson 
Hart,  Secretary;  Thomas  Ricord,  Treasurer.  Ebenezer 
Sangster,  who  had  been  appointed  Marshal,  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  carry  out  the  duties  of  his  office  by  ordering 
the  inhabitants  to  clean  up  the  streets  and  alleys.  These 
orders,  unfortunately,  led  him  into  difiiculty;  for  the 
inhabitants  were  so  unaccustomed  to  the  commands  of  a 
town  officer  that  in  many  cases  they  flatly  refused  to 
obey.  But  the  real  crisis  of  this  administration  came 
when  the  officers,  finding  it  necessary  to  obtain  money 
for  the  support  of  the  government,  levied  a  municipal 
tax.  This  tax  the  people  refused  to  pay.  Whereupon 
the  officers,  disgusted  at  being  left  without  financial  sup- 
port, dropped  their  official  duties  and  returned  to  their 
ordinary  pursuits. 


io8  lozva   City. 

On  Wednesday,  the  6th  of  April,  1853,  the  following 
officers  of  Iowa  Cit}-  took  the  oath  of  office  before 
George  S.  Hampton,  Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Iowa:  Jacob  DeForest,  Mayor;  Anson  Hart,  Recorder; 
C.  H.  Buck,  Treasurer;  Robert  Hutchinson,  Marshal; 
Benjamin  King,  Assessor;  and  Edward  Lanning,  Wil- 
liam H.  Hunt,  Thomas  Snyder,  Franz  P.  Brossart,  Wil- 
liam Penn  Clarke,  Peter  Roberts,  Peter  Statzer  and  John 
Van  Fleet,  Aldermen.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day 
these  officers  held  their  first  meeting  in  the  Capitol. 

Municipal  Improvements. 

Up  to  the  time  of  its  incorporation  Iowa  City  must 
certainly  have  presented  a  ragged  appearance.  The 
streets  were  neither  paved  nor  graded.  In  many  places 
they  were  almost  impassable  on  account  of  brush  and 
stumps  of  trees.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  hundred 
feet  on  Clinton  street  there  were  no  sidewalks.  One 
hundred  and  fourteen  dogs  ran  loose  untaxed:  and 
droves  of  hogs,  running  at  large,  rooted  in  the  streets 
and  before  private  door  yards.  Indeed  the  hog  had 
become  an  obnoxious  public  nuisance. 

To  the  task  of  remedying  this  condition  of  affairs  the 
new  administration  at  once  applied  its  energies.  An 
ordinance  to  "provide  for  Cleaning  of  Streets,  Roads 
and  Sidewalks"  passed  by  the  City  Council  on  the 
13th  of  April  was  soon  followed  by  others  relating  to 
nuisances,  street  grading,  the  removal  of  brush  and 
stumps,  and  sidewalks.  Hogs  were  prohibited  from 
running  at  large;  and  all  dogs  were  taxed.  In  Feb- 
ruarv,  1855,  a  Board  of  Health  was  created.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1856,  a  permit  to  light  the  town  by  gas  for  twenty 
years  was  granted  to  David  R.  B.  Nevin  &  Co. 


The  State   Capital.  109 

A  Political  Center. 

From  1839  to  1857,  Iowa  City,  being  the  capital,  was 
the  nerve-center  of  Iowa  politics.  It  was  the  seat  of  the 
General  Assembly  and  the  town  of  public  conventions  of 
all  kinds.  From  January  to  January  the  atmosphere 
was  full  of  politics.  During  the  sessions  of  the  General 
Assembly  discussions  naturally  became  more  vehement 
and  heated;  for  all  eyes  in  the  State  were  then  turned 
towards  the  capital.  Lobbyists  appeared  at  the  hotels 
and  plied  their  profession  with  much  zeal;  yet  the  lobb\- 
in  those  da^'s  is  insignificant  when  compared  to  the 
body  of  persons  that  now  hovers  about  the  Capitol  at 
Des  Moines  to  "influence"  public  officials. 

Then  too  the  members  of  the  earlier  Assemblies  were 
not  so  open  to  political  intrigues  and  jobbery.  Mostlv 
farmers,  they  were  as  a  rule  straight-forward  honest 
men,  and  did  what  seemed  to  them  their  duty  towards 
their  fellow  citizens.  It  is  true  that  their  narrow-minded- 
ness sometimes  led  them  into  blunders;  but  such  mis- 
takes were  due  to  ignorance  and  not  to  corruption.  In 
a  certain  respect  they  w^ere  at  one  w'ith  their  successors. 
They  were  parsimonious.  In  practicing  their  economv 
they  were  over-zealous.  Their  conception  of  public 
business  was  narrowed  by  their  ideas  of  private  enter- 
prise. To  appropriate  more  money  than  could  be  readily 
counted  on  one's  fingers  was  to  them  a  great  waste  of 
public  funds. 

Full  of  life  and  energy  while  the  General  Assembly 
was  in  session,  Iowa  City  was  certainly  dull  w^hen  the 
members  had  finished  their  public  business  and  departed 
to  their  homes.  During  the  period  of  adjournment  the 
town  was  even  more  forsaken  than  it  now  is  after  com- 
mencement. 


VII. 

REMOVAL    OF   THE    CAPITAL. 

Agitation  for  Removal. 

The  same  argument  that  led  to  the  location  of  the 
capital  in  Johnson  County  in  1839,  forced  its  removal  to 
Des  Moines  in  1857.  I  refer  to  the  argument  that  the 
capital  of  a  Territory  or  State  ought  to  command  a 
central  location,  both  geographically  and  with  respect  to 
the  future  mass  of  population. 

No  sooner  had  Iowa  become  a  State  than  it  was 
observed,  especially  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Des  Moines 
valley,  that  the  location  of  Iowa  City  was  far  from  the 
geographical  center  of  the  State  as  bounded  by  the  con- 
stitution of  1846.  Hence  the  public  mind  began  to 
look  forward  to  an  ultimate  change  in  the  location  of 
the  capital.!  But  the  change  did  not  come  without  a 
struggle. 

At  the  first  session  of  the  General  Assembly  which 
met  at  Iowa  City  in  December,  1846,  the  question  of 
removal  was  first  brought  up,  and  at  the  time  was  dis- 
cussed with  considerable  interest.  The  argument  based 
on  the  principle  of  rodral  location  was  a  strong  one;  but 
the  opposition  were  undoubtedly  in  the  right  when  they 
maintained  that  immediate  removal  would  be  premature. 
For  the  center  of  population  had  not  }et  passed  Iowa 

1  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  ist  Gen.  AssV,  page  204. 


Removal  of  the   Capital.  1 1 1 

City.  Shortly  before  the  close  of  the  session  the  discus- 
sion ended  in  a  compromise,  that  proposed  to  leave  Iowa 
City  in  possession  of  the  State  University  upon  the 
removal  of  the  capital  farther  west.  With  this  under- 
standing "An  Act  to  provide  for  the  location  of  the 
Seat  of  Government  of  the  State  of  Iowa  and  for  the 
selection  of  land  <jjranted  by  Congress^  to  aid  in  erecting 
Public  Buildings  "  was  passed  by  the  General  Assembly 
and  approved  on  the  22nd  of  February  1847.^  By  this 
act,  John  Brown,  Joseph  Hoag  and  John  Taylor  were 
appointed  commissioners  to  meet  in  the  month  of  May, 
1847,  and  examine  the  State  for  the  purpose  of  selecting 
land  and  of  making  a  location  for  the  permanent  seat  of 
government,  which  location  must  be  near  the  geographi- 
cal center  of  the  State. -^ 

Monroe  City. 

In  accordance  with  their  instructions  from  the  General 
Assembly  the  above  named  commissioners  met  in  Henry 
County^  and  proceeded  to  examine  such  parts  of  the 
State  as  they  deemed  expedient;  and  after  an  examina- 
tion of  a  considerable  portion  of  the  unsettled  as  well  as 
the  settled  parts  of  the  State,  they  selected  live  sections 
of  land  in  Jasper  County,  namely:  Sections  four,  five, 
eight,  nine,  the  west  half  of  section  three  and  the  west 
half  of  section  ten,  all  in  township  seventy-eight  north, 
range  twenty  west  of  the  fifth  Principal  Meridian. ^     On 

1  Five  sections  of  land  were  granted  bv  Congress  in  an  act  passed 
March  3rd,  1845. — U.  S.  Stat,  at  Large,  Vol.  V,  page  790. 
-  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  ist  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  85. 
3  Ibid,  page  85. 

*  Report  of  Commissioners,  House  Jour.,  2nd  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  199. 
s  Ibid,  page  199. 


112  lozva   City. 

these  lands  the  commissioners  caused  to  be  laid  out  a 
town  which  they  called  Monroe  City.^ 

After  Monroe  City  had  been  surveyed  and  platted  the 
commissioners  gave  notice  of  a  public  sale  of  lots.  The 
sale  was  begun  on  the  28th  of  October  and  continued 
from  day  to  day  until  the  2nd  of  November.  Four 
hundred  and  fifteen  lots  were  sold  at  these  sales. 
One  of  the  commissioners  alone  purchased  thirtv-eight 
lots — for  which  he  paid  the  average  price  of  about  $6.50 
per  lot. 

The  location  of  Monroe  City,  however,  met  with  gen- 
eral disapproval  throughout  the  State.  The  people  of 
the  Des  Moines  valley,  for  whose  special  benefit  the 
removal  had  been  made,  called  a  public  meeting  to 
protest  against  the  action  of  the  commissioners.  Even 
those  who  had  so  strongly  advocated  removal,  now  that 
the  location  had  been  made  nearer  the  geographical 
center  of  the  State,  began  to  feel  that  it  was  absurd  to 
remove  the  capital  while  yet  the  center  of  population 
remained  east  of  Iowa  City.  Indeed,  so  universal  was 
the  dissatisfaction  that  at  the  next  session  of  the  General 
Assembly  an  act  was  passed  vacating  the  town  of  Mon- 
roe City. 2  Thus  the  first  agitation  for  removal  proved 
abortive  and  Iowa  City  remained  the  capital  ten  years 
longer. 

Note. — The  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  five  sections  of  land,  granted 
by  Congress  to  the  State  of  Iowa  and  selected  by  the  commissioners  in 
Jasper  County  as  the  location  for  the  capital,  were  afterwards  appropri- 
ated for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College  in  the 
original  act  establishing  said  College  in  1S5S. — See  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa, 
7th  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  774. 

'  Report  of  Commissioners,  Mouse  Jour.,  2nd  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  199. 

'•^  The  act  vacating  Monroe  City  also  provided  for  refunding  all  money 
received  in  payment  for  lots  purchased  in  said  town. —  .Stat.  Laws  of 
Iowa,  2nd  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  147. 


Removal  of  the   Capital.  113 

Des  Moines. 

The  Monroe  City  episode  had  the  immediate  effect  of 
weakening  the  party  in  favor  of  removing  the  capital. 
But  they  still  argued  for  a  central  location, ^  and  finalh', 
when  the  5th  General  Assembly  met  at  Iowa  City  in 
the  winter  of  1854-55,  succeeded  in  passing  "An  Act 
to  relocate  the  seat  of  Government. ^ 

This  act,  which  was  approved  on  the  25th  of  January, 
1855,  provided,  that  five  commissioners,  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  shall  select  a  site  within  two  miles  of  the 
junction  of  the  Des  Moines  and  Raccoon  rivers  in  Polk 
County;  and  that  "it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  commis- 
sioners in  making  the  relocation  to  obtain  at  least  as 
much  land  as  is  necessary  for  the  capital  buildings,  and 
may  be  practicable  to  obtain  without  charge  to  the  State, 
and  also  an}^  and  all  grants  and  donations  of  land  and 
town  lots,  within  their  power  to  the  State." ^ 

In  comphance  with  the  above  act  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  Governor  selected  as  a  site  for  the 
permanent  seat  of  government  of  the  State  the  land 
upon  which  the  present  Capitol  of  Iowa  stands  in  the 
cit}^  of  Des  Moines  on  the  east  side  of  the  Des  INIoines 
River. 

Third  Constitutional  Convention. 

On  the  day  previous  to  the  one  on  which  the  act  to 
relocate  the  seat  of  government  was  approved,  an  act  of 
equal  importance  received  the  signature  of  the  Governor. 
This  was  an  act  submitting  to  a  vote  of  the  people  the 
question    of    a   constitutional    convention   to    revise  and 

1  See  House  Jour,  of  3rd  Gen.  Ass'y,  pages  236,  2S9. 
*  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  5th  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  105. 
s  Ibid.,  page  106. 


114  lozva   City. 

amend  the  constitution  of  1846.^  At  the  general  election 
held  on  the  first  Monday  in  August,  1856,  the  people 
decided  in  favor  of  revision  —  they  had  grown  weary  of 
the  clause  in  the  constitution  of  1846  which  abolished 
banks  —  and  on  the  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in 
November  elected  delegates  to  a  convention. 

This  convention,  the  third  of  its  kind  called  into  exist- 
ence by  the  people  of  Iowa,  assembled  at  Iowa  City  on 
the  19th  da}^  of  January,  1857.2  The  General  Assem- 
bly being  yet  in  session  at  the  Capitol,  the  convention 
held  its  meetings  for  a  few  days  in  the  Supreme  Court 
room,  which  on  account  of  its  size  was  somewhat  incon- 
venient.^ On  the  20th,  permanent  organization  was 
effected  with  Francis  Springer  as  President.^  On  the 
29th  the  General  Assembly  adjourned,  after  which  the 
convention  occupied  the  more  convenient  halls  of  the 
Assembly.  After  a  session  of  forty-live  days  the  third 
constitutional  convention  adjourned  sine  die.^ 

The  constitution  drafted  by  this  convention  —  known 
as  the  constitution  of  1857  —  was  submitted  to  the  peo- 
ple and  approved  by  them  at  the  general  election  in 
August,  1857. 

The  constitution  of  1857,  like  the  constitutions  of  1844 
and  1846,  contained  an  elaborately  drawn  bill  of  rights, 
defined  the  conditions  of  suffrage,  and  besides  prescrib- 
ing the  form  of  government  in  its  legislative,  executive 

>  Stat.  Laws  of  Iowa,  5th  Gen.  Ass'y,  page  114. 
"Journal  of  Convention,  page  3. 

*  Familiar  with  the  situation  the  city  councils  of  both  Dubuque  and 
Davenport  oflfered  to  entertain  the  convention  and  furnish  suitable 
accommodations  in  case  the  convention  decided  to  remove  from  Iowa 
City. —  .See  Journal  of  Convention,  pages  6,  7. 

*  /hid,  page   10. 

■"'  /bid,  page  389. 


Removal  of  the   Capital.  115 

and  judicial  departments,  embraced  detailed  legislation 
respecting  state  debts,  corporations,  education  and 
school  lands,  and  miscellaneous  topics.  The  sev'eral 
constitutions  of  Iowa  have  alike  conformed  to  the  gen- 
eral tendency  in  American  commonwealths  to  legislative 
enactments  by  constitutional  conventions.  This  tendency, 
developed  no  doubt  by  the  desire  to  secure  permanence 
in  legislation,  marks  on  the  one  hand  the  confidence  of 
the  people  in  itself,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  intimates 
a  suspicion  of  the  shifting  caprice  of  successive  Assem- 
blies. It  is  an  incident  to  democratic  government,  at 
least  in  its  formative  period,  and  constitutes  in  its  most 
pronounced  form  the  American  type  of  the  Swiss  refer- 
endum. The  location  of  the  State  University  at  low.a 
City  by  the  constitutional  convention  of  1S57  is  a  fine 
example  of  an  enactment  by  the  convention  purely  legis- 
lative. 

The  Great  Compromise. 

The  struggle  over  the  permanent  location  of  the  capi- 
tal was  a  long  one.  Begun  at  the  first  session  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State,  it  was  waged  incessantly 
for  a  period  of  eleven  years.  It  generated  a  feeling  of 
sectional  jealousy  so  strong  that  from  the  beginning  it 
was  evident  that  the  question  could  be  settled  only  by 
a  compromise. 

Accordingly  the  first  formal  proposal  for  the  removal 
of  the  capital  farther  west  contemplated  the  establish- 
ment of  a  State  University  at  Iowa  City.  This  compro- 
mise was  reluctantly  entertained  by  the  people  of  Iowa 
City — the}^  insisted  on  holding  the  capital.  But  when, 
in  the  course  of  time,  they  saw  that  the  argument  in 
favor  of  central  location  would  ultimately  prevail,  the}" 


Ii6  lovja   City. 

acquiesced  and  petitioned  the  General  Assembly  for  the 
State  University.  Thereupon  two  acts  were  passed  by 
the  General  Assembly  in  February,  1857,  one  providing 
for  the  relocation  of  the  capital,  and  the  other  establish- 
ing the  State  University  at  Iowa  City.  The  location  of 
the  capital  in  Jasper  County,  however,  was  disapproved, 
and  the  organization  of  the  State  University  delayed. 

When  the  third  constitutional  convention  assembled  at 
Iowa  City  in  January,  1857,  Des  Moines  had  already 
been  selected  as  the  site  for  the  capital  and  the  State 
University  had  been  put  into  actual  operation  at  Iowa 
City.  To  make  the  arrangement  more  binding  the  con- 
vention incorporated  this  great  compromise  into  the  new 
constitution : 

The  Seat  of  Government  is  hereby  permanently  established,  as  now- 
fixed  by  law,  at  the  City  of  Des  Moines,  in  the  county  of  Polk;  and  the 
State  Uiiiversity  at  Iowa  City  in  the  county  of  Johnson. 


In  the  fall  of  1857,  the  capital  was  removed  to  Des 
Moines.  The  archives  of  the  State  were  all  transported 
overland;  for  the  Mississippi  &  Missouri  Railroad  Com- 
pany had  not  yet  extended  their  road  beyond  Iowa  City. 
The  snows  of  the  winter  of  1857-58  had  begun  to  fall 
when  the  public  safe,  the  last  article  to  be  removed,  was 
loaded  on  two  bobsleds  and  drawn  by  ten  yoke  of  oxen 
from  the  old  capital  to  the  new. 


IOWA 

State  Historical  Society 

IOWA  CITY,  IOWA. 


INCORPORATED    1867. 


The  object  of  the  Iowa  State  Historical  Society  is  to 
collect  and  preserve  such  books,  manuscripts  and  other 
material  as  will  be  of  use  to  students  of  history  —  espe- 
cially students  of  Iowa  history. 

LIBRARY. 

The  Hbrary  of  this  Society  is  located  at  Iowa  City, 
Iowa.  It  is  open  to  the  public  in  general  on  Wednes- 
days and  Saturdays,  and  to  special  students  on  all  other 
days. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Iowa  Historical  Record  is  issued  quarterly  and 
contains  miscellaneous  articles  on  topics  of  Iowa  history. 

Other  publications  consist  of  lectures  delivered  before 
the  Society,  and  monographs  prepared  by  special 
students. 

OFFICERS. 

J.  L.  PiCKARD,  LL.D., President. 

M.  B.  Cochran,  M.D., Vice-President. 

Lyman  Parsons, Treasurer. 

M.  W.  Davis, Secretary. 

H.  W.  Lathrop, Librarian. 


v'*^- 


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